Writes Matt Conigliaro at Abstract Appeal, the Florida legal weblog: “Remember the green or yellow or red flags that could be seen on Florida’s beaches, letting would-be swimmers know whether it was safe, risky, or dangerous to enter the water? They won’t be found any longer on state park beaches without lifeguards, on the theory that it’s better to have no flag than the wrong flag, and without lifeguards present, changing the flags in a timely fashion is too difficult.

“That’s one way to look at, as presented in this story from the AP. Another way would be to look at the lawsuit mentioned in the story — a man dove into riptide-filled waters to save a struggling couple despite red flags and wound up drowning himself, and his family sued the state for providing inadequate warnings — and wonder if the Florida Legislature’s calculus in abandoning the flag system was not as simple as: say something, get sued for saying it wrong; say nothing, avoid suit.” (Abstract Appeal, Jun. 21). The AP story Conigliaro cites has been taken down, but other news clips detail the lawsuit recently filed by survivors of Daniel F. Heede, 52, of Barnhart, Mo., over his 2002 drowning at St. Andrew State Park, and the Florida Legislature’s vote to remove warning flags from state parks without lifeguards. See “Lawsuit Leads Florida To Pull Warning Flags From Beach Parks”, WFTV, Jun. 21.

Filed under: personal responsibility