Lawsuit USA

Josh Hancock was a terrific young relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, with a bright future ahead of him.

Sadly, Josh died in a car crash on April 29 when he slammed into a flat-bed tow truck in the wee hours of the morning.

According to police reports, Josh had twice the legally allowed limit of alcohol in his blood; he wasn't wearing a seat belt; he was speeding; and he was on his cell phone at the time of the accident.

Sounds to us like it was Josh's fault.

Aahhh, but we live in the U.S. It's always someone else's fault, and that's why we have our vaunted court system and our pricey lawyers.

Josh's dad, Dean Hancock, has, in the classic fashion that lawyers advocate, sued everyone in sight. He sued the restaurant where Josh was drinking; he sued the restaurant's manager; he sued the tow truck driver; and GET THIS: he even sued the driver whose stalled car on the highway resulted in calling the tow truck!!!!

Imagine that. It's late at night. Your car breaks down. You're tired, a bit scared, terribly worried. Finally, relief is in sight--the tow truck has arrived. But then a speeding drunk yakking on a cell phone, without the good sense to wear a seatbelt, slams into the tow truck, killing himself--but fortunately not hurting anyone else--and next thing you know you're a defendant in a friggin' lawsuit brought by, of all people, the dad who instilled such great values in the kid who ran into the tow truck!

Some country, eh?