Red Sox fan hit by foul bowl cries foul!

[Jason]

In the words of the infamous lawyer pictured below..

"America! Land of the lawsuit! I love it!"

[yankeesrule]

you dont haveto be watch the entire game but when a foul ball is coming your way, the people around you usually make some commotion.

[CBLCardinals]

This reminds me of my experience yesterday at Baum Stadium (Arkansas Razorbacks Baseball Stadium, Florida State @ Arkansas Game 1)

A lady was sitting about 20 feet behind me was struck right in the face by a line drive that took less than 2 seconds to get there. My seats were down the right field line.

The ball was hit so hard, she had little time to react; however I acknowledge ALL fans assume that risk when they travel to the ballpark. One guy standing up in the line of the ball actually stuck his hands out to try and catch it, but completely missed.

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

This is actually a fairly basic first-year law school issue. You assume certain risks in your activities, e.g., you can't sue the amusement park company if you get nauseous on the rides (although you can if the car jumps the tracks and your leg is broken - that's likely not a risk you assume).

For baseball games, I think getting hit by a foul is a pretty straightforward assumption of risk situation. On the other hand, if a chunk of the stadium had hit her in the head, she'd probably have a good lawsuit and rightfully so.

[KC]

Originally posted by yankeesrule
you dont haveto be watch the entire game but when a foul ball is coming your way, the people around you usually make some commotion.

I'll say that I agree the lawsuit was b.s. from the start, but I suppose if she truly did lose all that money in wages and medical fees, than I would probably do the same if I was in her shoes.

I try to pay close attention during games, but I may get distracted every now and then. To give her the benefit of the doubt, that probably happened to her.

Now, remember where her seat was located. A ball traveling at 90-mph, started from 141 feet away -- roughly the same distance from home to second base -- you're toast if the ball is coming at you and you're not paying attention. What's the first thing most people do when someone yell's "heads up!" Honestly, less people duck than look up to see what's going on.

[Joshv02]

Originally posted by Jason Moyer
Don't they make period announcements at every MLB game saying "balls hit into the stands may cause injury, etc, please pay attention to the game at all times, etc etc". I remember those announcements from going to the vet in the 80's and last month when I went to PNC they were saying that every few innings.

The RedSox stopped doing that a few years ago (which was the women's point in this suit). The PawSox still go through the ritual.

Originally posted by Eckstein 4 Prez
This is actually a fairly basic first-year law school issue. You assume certain risks in your activities, e.g., you can't sue the amusement park company if you get nauseous on the rides (although you can if the car jumps the tracks and your leg is broken - that's likely not a risk you assume).

For baseball games, I think getting hit by a foul is a pretty straightforward assumption of risk situation. On the other hand, if a chunk of the stadium had hit her in the head, she'd probably have a good lawsuit and rightfully so.

Yes, but, Eck -- Massachusetts abolished the assumption of risk defense in the mid-70s, like a lot of states. This was a straight failure to warn case, similar to having an open ditch on the farm's premises (or a slip and fall case with a wet floor) . The defendant owed a duty to warn of non-obvious dangers within their control after inviting the plaintiff -- premises liability. The question here was if the danger was obvious or not. The court of appeals, even though it sounds like plaintiff hadn't been to a baseball game in decades, said she should have known of the danger, therefore a warning was unncessary.

There are some great old cases on this: in one from the 20s, a fan at game in Cincinnati was struck by a ball during intermission between a double header. The players were batting towards the stands with their back to the diamond! This one got to the jury

[CMH]

Originally posted by darkhorse
Who watches every second of an MLB game? Does it take even one second for a ball traveling 90 mph to travel 141 feet.

No one, even people with a scant knowledge of baseball, goes to the park expecting they'll need reconstructive surgery before the game is done.

What was your sentence?

You really miss the sarcasm in all of my posts.