There is a lot of talk in the air about tort reform. Hopefully we will get some. Besides the direct cost of liability, there is the behavior driven by concern over liability (some justifiable, perhaps some not). This causes defensive maneuvers (e.g., extra testing, aka "defensive medicine"), or sometimes outright avoidance of doing something that would otherwise clearly be beneficial, usually altruistic. Also, the widespread acceptance of liability as a legitimate "trump card" provides a smokescreen for dishonest justifications (for instance, my YMCA prohibits use of non-YMCA-employed personal trainers out of liability concerns, when you know darn well, they just want to maintain their monopoly on that lucrative service).
A recent news story about a local grocery store that abruptly announced an end to its policy of donating past-sale-date baked goods and produce is a case in point. (They have since reversed course, btw.) Apparently, they were afraid of doing a good, altruistic thing, because it might cause them liability problems. Or, alternatively, they had other motivations, but were hiding behind liability.
10:39:23 PM 
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