Personal responsibility

A month or so back, probably in the context of the wrap-up of the Duke lacrosse case, i chastised someone for inappropriately drawing conclusions about classes of people based on the actions of a single individual.

So given what i'm about to write, i'm going to have to be very careful not to find myself inhabiting a very uncomfortable precipice, having been hoisted there by my own petard.

I think this is the the kind of thing that people mean when they say that "lawyers are scumbags." And i'm almost certain that when people, especially right-wingers, lament the loss of personal responsibility in our culture, this is what they're talking about.

The father of Josh Hancock filed suit Thursday, claiming a restaurant provided drinks to the St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher even though he was intoxicated prior to the crash that killed him.

The suit, filed in St. Louis Circuit Court by Dean Hancock of Tupelo, Miss., does not specify damages. Mike Shannon's Restaurant, owned by the longtime Cardinals broadcaster who starred on three World Series teams in the 1960s, is a defendant in the case along with Shannon's daughter, Patricia Shannon Van Matre, the restaurant manager.

Other defendants include Eddie's Towing, the company whose flatbed tow truck was struck by Hancock's sport utility vehicle in the early hours of April 29; tow truck driver Jacob Edward Hargrove; and Justin Tolar, the driver whose stalled car on Interstate 64 was being assisted by Hargrove.

OK, i can get my head around trying to hold the restaurant responsible. I lived on Long Island in the 70s when the owners of a bar called the Little Brown Jug was sued by the family of someone killed by a drunk driver who had been served while inebriated. As i recall (and i can't find any documentation of this online) this was the first successful lawsuit against a tavern owner for failing to cut someone off who then went on to kill someone else. If Josh Hancock had taken anybody else with him that night, i'd expect their survivors and heirs to sue the restaurant as well.

But suing the tow truck operator? Suing the guy whose car stalled out in the middle of the highway?

Authorities said the 29-year pitcher had a blood content of nearly twice the legal limit for alcohol in his system when he crashed into the back of the tow truck. He was also speeding, using a cell phone and wasn't wearing a seat belt, Police Chief Joe Mokwa said after the accident. Marijuana also was found in the SUV.

You know, i feel bad for Dean Hancock. He just lost a son. But come on, what kind of way is that to respond to such a loss? What does that say about our society that such a lawsuit is going to be taken seriously?

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