COMMENTARY | An Oregon woman sued a guy she met on an online dating site for intentionally giving her genital herpes. And amazingly, the jury awarded her $900,000, The Oregonian reports. Some said the man was 75 percent to blame and others that he was fully to blame.
The jury found the man guilty of battery because he intentionally engaged in an activity that could harm her. So if I drive like a maniac and get hurt, I can sue Ford because my car didn't protect me? If I let my kid climb the monkey bars and he gets hurt, I should be sued because I purposely let him do an activity that could harm him?
If both parties are willing, sex is a 50-50 cooperative. It's risky even if you've known your partner for a long time. If you sleep with someone you barely know, you multiply the risk exponentially.
Hooking up with someone you meet is problematic enough. The boundaries online are even more blurred. If I go look at a car advertised on Craigslist, there are no guarantee it won't be a lemon.
It's the same with relationships. You take the person's word they are what they say they advertise themselves. If you choose to sleep with them, you take what you get. I'm not saying the guy she slept with was without fault. But it was silly of the jury to assign blame percentages when she had just as much involvement in the liaison.
Cases like this should be thrown out of court. You can't sue for pain and suffering that you bring on yourself.
