According to CNN, the family of 22-year-old Isaac Goodkind is suing Burton Snowboards because their son suffocated to death in Lake Tahoe while snowboarding five years ago.

The argument is that snowboarders can fall over and drown in powdered snow because the foot bindings on a snowboard will not come loose as they do on skis.

While 30 percent of snowboard related deaths are caused by suffocation, only one half of one percent of skiing deaths have the same cause.

Many snowboarding enthusiasts believe that more accidents would be caused if snowboard bindings were manufactured to come loose.

Snowboarders know the risks of their sport, and they often look for deep powder off of trails.

Even in this case, Isaac Goodkind signed a waiver saying he realized snowboarding was dangerous.

There comes a time when we have to say enough is enough.

Our sympathies can be with any family that loses a child for almost any reason.

But it is not completely unreasonable or heartless of us to say that when you take your chances, sometimes you lose.

By participating in what is an inherently dangerous sport, an individual should be considered to have already given up certain rights to protection under the law, and most all, rights to sue anyone guilty of nothing more than engaging in the lawful act of selling sporting goods which are not defective.

What’s next?

Do we sue the manufacturers of Zippo lighters for not telling us fire can burn after some thrill-happy extremist jumps his scooter through a flaming hoop?

If people don’t know that strapping a board on their feet and skiing down a mountain has its hazards to begin with, then maybe it is the parents who are at fault for not educating them on the simplest of natural laws.

This accident occurred five years ago.

The Goodkind’s attempt to sue the man they bought the snowboard from is either a desperate cry for help or a blatant attempt to get rich by cashing in on the misfortune of their own son.

It is unfortunate that our legal system has no way to screen these kinds of frivolous suits out of the process before they waste too much time and taxpayers’ dollars.

Perhaps the English tradition of “loser pays all court costs” would be the simplest and most effective way of guaranteeing that nuisance suits never reach the courtroom.