Will you sue?

We have become a litigious society. A lady spills hot coffee in her lap and sues McDonald’s. A teenager is arrested for DUI and his parents sue the club where he purchased the alcohol. Your neighbor trips on your steps and sues you for negligence. A new twist is, “If your kid gives my kid measles, I’ll sue.”

There’s a hypothetical case study in the Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics that explores whether there’s a case for holding people legally accountable for the damage they cause by not vaccinating their children.

A large number of people, called anti-vaxxers, refuse to vaccinate their children based on rumors that the vaccine causes autism. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that fear is unfounded.

But what if a mother decides not to vaccinate her four-year old for measles, the child contacts the disease and passes it to a one-year old, who is too young for the vaccine? And what if the baby dies?

My own opinion, unsolicited and offered at no charge, is that parents can make a legitimate and state-sanctioned choice not to vaccinate because they fear for their children’s safety. However, they should understand that their decisions are putting other children at risk.

To sue or not to sue – that is the question.