Hobbsr: Play Ball! 7 Common Legal Issues With Baseball Injuries

Baseball season is in full swing, and few things beat taking in a ball game on a nice summer day. Whether you’re in the bleachers at your child’s little league game or behind home plate for a major league tilt, though, you need to be on your toes. Foul balls, bats, and even mascots and hot dogs can come at you fast.

Here are seven of the nastiest, and strangest, baseball injuries:

1. If You’re Hit by a Foul Ball, Can You Sue?

Probably the most common fan injury, especially if you’re at a professional game. So common, in fact, that it has its own name: “The Baseball Rule” precludes fans from suing major league teams or the league itself for injuries from batted balls, or even bats themselves.

2. Can Woman Hit by Bat at Red Sox Game Sue?

In a case that might bring the end of the baseball rule, a fan suffered a serious head injury when shards of a bat flew into the stands at Fenway Park. The incident prompted several teams to extend safety netting and is still being litigated.

3. Baseball Player Loses Batting Cage Injury Suit

What about the players themselves? After a pitcher took a line drive to the face while practicing in a batting cage, a court ruled that players assume the foreseeable risks while engaged in the sport.

4. NJ Little Leaguer Gets $14.5M for Baseball Injury

But that doesn’t preclude all player lawsuits. A 12-year-old went into cardiac arrest after being hit in the chest with a batted ball and is now severely disabled. His family sued the aluminum bat manufacturer, the sporting goods store that sold it, and the baseball league, and won.

5. Woman Sues Kid in $500K Little League Lawsuit

It’s not all fun and games when the kids take the field, apparently. An errant throw hit a spectator in the face, causing multiple fractures and now a court has to figure out if the toss was intentional or not and whether the fan assumed the risk of injury.

6. KC Royals Not Liable for Hot Dog Toss Injury

Any time you’re at a ball game, you should remain alert for batted balls. And bats. And hot dogs being fired from air canons. Because the team won’t be liable if you take a kielbasa to the face, so keep your head on a swivel out there.

7. Philly Phanatic Sued Over Pool-Toss Prank

You’d think the large green lovechild of Big Bird and Kermit the Frog would’ve learned his lesson by now, but here he is, tossing fans (and their chairs) into pools and getting sued for it. So be on guard, even if you’re not at the game.

Of course baseball games can be fun, but they also carry their own set of liability risks. If you’ve been injured at a ball game, contact an experienced injury attorney — most are willing to consult about your case for free.

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