Have we lost our minds?

I recently heard of a woman in England who, through infirmity, desperately needed to sit down for a while when out shopping. The shop assistant told her they couldn't let her sit on a chair, and that chairs were not allowed in the shop, in case she fell off it and hurt herself. This 'rule' formed part of the health and safety regulations which these days prevent anyone from doing anything that might cause them to hurt themselves. The reasoning behind these regulations has little to do with concern for safety, but rather concern for the amount of money the injured party could sue for. There are a number of questions that can be raised here.

Since when has the human race become so afraid of being responsible for their own actions that laws have been passed to ensure that someone else becomes financially ruined through those actions?

Since when has compassion been replaced by mindless obedience to someone else's rules, thus robbing the enforcer of free will, the one thing that sets humans apart from all other beings?

What are the statistics relating to people who sit in chairs and don't fall off them, as against people who sit in chairs and fall off them (this would have to be broken down into the myriad reasons for falling off)?

If the shop assistant stood all day and was on the point of collapse, would she be too frightened to sit on a chair in case she fell off?

How is it that a world population of billions has managed to relinquish control of their everyday lives to so few?

If you were the shop assistant, would you ignore the 'rules' in favour of good sense, compassion and empathy?