Are you serious?

So we officially started Negligence in torts class today. And let me tell you, this pleading negligence stuff is really bothering me. I'm not saying all negligence cases are frivolous; in fact, many are very important and have made the world a much safer place.

But there are many negligence cases, especially against companies that have caused endless litigation that has resulted in owner manuals to be as thick as phonebooks. The American citizen, through negligence litigation, has not only disregarded personal responsibility but has created a society were you blame everyone except for yourself.

We have read cases where products have been misused, individuals trespassing on private property, and reasonable precautions are not enough; all of which the defendant has been liable for negligence. Granted, most of the cases in which these things occurred, the court has ruled correctly and said that the company wasn't liable. However, this is not the case in every situation.

Thankfully, the defense has a tool called contributory negligence (which now, i think is being called comparative negligence). This is an affirmative defense used by the defendant to show that plaintiff was more or equally negligent than that of the defendant's negligence. It is the best tool I feel (or at least that I have learned about) to stop frivolous cases where plaintiff's don't own up to their mistakes but rather try to blame big business.