More than 15 million lawsuits will be filed in state courts this year, according to tort reform advocates.
And that tendency to litigate first and ask questions later might be hurting the country's kids.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the trend toward litigating every minor accident that happens in our lives, as well as constantly adhering to the "safety first" motto, could be creating weak, overweight, neurotic children.
From the WSJ:
Some child-development experts and parents say decades of dumbed-down playgrounds, fueled by fears of litigation, concerns about injury and worrywart helicopter parents, have led to cookie-cutter equipment that offers little thrill. The result, they say, is that children are less compelled to play outside, potentially stunting emotional and physical development and exacerbating a nationwide epidemic of childhood obesity.
Above The Law's Elie Mystal, who first reported the Journal's article, has a pretty good real-life take on parents' overprotecting, and potentially over-litigating, their children's safety:
At home, my wife is trying to convince me to buy these plastic covers for all the electrical outlets, to prevent our baby from sticking his fingers into them once he can crawl. I suppose that’s one option. Of course, the other option is that if the kid sticks his finger in an electrical socket, he’ll learn pretty damn quickly that he shouldn’t do that ever again, and we won’t have to run around putting plastic covers on everything.
DON'T MISS: NYC's Famed Standard Hotel Is Accused Of Forcing A Manager To Give Birth In A Closet >
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