A Nov. 2 story reported, “Family of man killed by mountain goat files suit.” It continues, “The family of a man who was gored to death by a mountain goat in Olympic National Park is suing the Park Service.”
First, I offer my condolences to the family; I don’t want to minimize their loss or their grief. But second, I think that a suit against the National Park Service is totally unwarranted and is an example of misuse of our legal system.
The story was brief, so I don’t know all the facts and I might be wrong, but I assume the man was out hiking and was attacked on a trail. Thus, the goat did not enter the man’s home; instead, the hiker was invading the goat’s home.
The Forest Service is charged with protecting our national forests (including goats), and also with protecting the public; but in a case like this, the Forest Service is depending on a human’s enormous advantage in intelligence to avoid dangerous situations.
