Another Deplorable Lawsuit

I am sitting here absolutely astonished at what I just read on ESPN's website. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of frivolous lawsuits are filed in this country each day. Rarely do we hear about most of them though unless they involve someone famous or the case is so outlandish that we find out about it.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock tragically died a few weeks ago when he drove his vehicle into the back of a parked tow truck on a St. Louis highway. Hancock was drunk (nearly twice the legal limit) and there was marijuana found in his vehicle. At the time of the crash Hancock was also talking on his cell phone and not wearing a seat belt.

The latest news regarding this tragic event should infuriate anyone that hears about it. Dean Hancock, father of Josh, has filed a lawsuit against the restaurant that was serving Josh all of the alcohol that he consumed, and the manager of the restaurant. That isn't the unbelievable part because a lot of people file lawsuits against bars and restaurants for serving patrons too much alcohol. Are you ready for the real kicker?

Also being sued by Dean Hancock are the towing company, the tow truck driver, and the owner of the vehicle that had stalled on the highway prompting the tow truck driver to stop and help. I'm not making this up. By the way, the stalled vehicle became a stalled vehicle because the driver had to swerve to avoid a vehicle that was going to hit him. The driver is being sued because he "was negligent in allowing his vehicle to reach the point where it stalled on the highway, and for failing to move it out of the way of oncoming traffic." Again, I couldn't make this up if I tried.

The tow truck company and its driver are named in the lawsuit because they apparently didn't get the stalled vehicle out of the way of a drunk in a large SUV talking on his cell phone quickly enough. The tow truck company wasn't even called about the incident. The two truck driver noticed the stalled car and was nice enough to stop and offer help. So much for human kindness, huh?

Congratulations to lawyer Keith Kantack for filing this despicable lawsuit. He actually had the nerve to ask, "Were the police contacted?" and "Why weren't flares put out?" Oh, those are some fantastic questions. I get it, the police being on the scene or flares being visible would have stopped a heavily intoxicated person driving while talking on his cell phone from hitting anything in his path. That makes a whole lot of sense Mr. Kantack.

The question was even raised in the article of whether or not the St. Louis Cardinals and Major League Baseball could eventually be named in the lawsuit. Once again, two organizations that had absolutely nothing to do with the accident.

Is it possible that our legal system is the best, and the stupidest, in the world at the same time?