Only in America...

On April 28, Josh Hancock, a pitcher for the St. Luis Cardinals professional baseball team, died in an auto accident. He plowed into the back of a tow truck that was helping a stalled motorist, and died almost immediately. He was found to be very drunk, had marijuana in his car, was talking on his cell phone, speeding, and not wearing a seat belt.

Tragic accident. But five bad judgment calls grossly diminished any chance of survival. To the sane mind, it is clear that Josh was responsible for this accident.

Until you hear his father's latest salvo. Granted, the personal loss is great. To levy a lawsuit against the bar that served the drinks is a bit much, though. You cannot win in this country. If the bartender had refused to serve the drinks, Josh himself would have sued for infringing on his freedom to drink to the end of the world.

To quote the lawyer masterminding this latest frivolous lawsuit:

"It's understood that for the entire 3 1/2 hours that Josh Hancock was there that he was handed drinks," Keith Kantack, a lawyer for Dean Hancock, said. "It's our understanding that from the moment Josh Hancock entered Mike Shannon's that night that he was never without a drink."

Basic question: why do people frequent bars, if not to drink? Why stay there for 3.5 hours, if one had no intention of drinking away every minute of that time?

And it does not stop there. The lawsuit names the tow truck driver and his company as defendants! Apparently, 7 minutes (during which he was assisting the stalled vehicle) was "exorbitant" for clearing a vehicle off the roadway! Wow! Talk about high standards!

The madness actually continues: the stalled driver is also named as a defendant! The poor guy broke down on the highway, and is now being punished for somebody else's mistakes (in the plural).

It is time for some personal responsibility. But as they say, only in America...