Lawyer’s Book Decries Lawsuits and ‘Cult of Safety’

Lawyer and author Philip Howard takes another swipe at tort lawyers in a new book that decries a "cult of safety" that has led to ludicrous warning labels and fearful schoolteachers and administrators.

Howard laments “a Bubble Wrap approach to child rearing” in his new book, Life Without Lawyers: Liberating Americans From Too Much Law. George Will writes about the book’s lessons in a Washington Post column entitled “Litigation Nation.”

Will lays out several examples to illustrate. One school district banned running at recess. Another called police to deal with an unruly 5-year-old, fearful that anyone who touched the child would be sued. Playgrounds across the nation have removed “the equipment that made them fun.” A warning label on a fishing lure warns the user not to swallow it, while a letter opener contains a warning that the user should wear safety glasses.

America's “increasingly perverse legal culture” has created such a fear of lawsuits that common sense is being sacrificed, Will writes. “Today's entitlement culture inculcates the idea that everyone is entitled to a life without danger, disappointment or aggravation.”