Our society has long had a need for legal reform to limit lawsuits and the ridiculous awards of some juries. There is a fundamentally flawed mindset driving civil law, namely that everything is someone else’s fault. The resulting worries about liability drive up the price of everything, including basic products and services; government; and medical care.

It’s not that real negligence does not exist and should not be subject to legal recourse. It is the scope and stupidity of some lawsuits that are allowed to flourish.

In our society right now, an important piece of legislation that Congress needs to approve is eliminating liability for businesses and public institutions related to the coronavirus pandemic. The virus is everywhere. It is a general burden on everyone that should not be shifted onto our businesses or schools, as examples.

People with extreme worries about the virus can adjust their lives to mitigate their own risks. They can “opt out” of most social interactions and hope for the best. But most people realize that life needs to go on. There are heavy costs to virus-related cancellations and shutdowns. Costs that cannot be sustained.

Life needs to move forward. Humans need to have jobs. Work needs to get done. Children need to learn or fall too far behind forever. Virus-related lawsuits would be sand in the gears of a society already struggling to function. They need to be banned.