Family of 10-year-old files lawsuit against Baltimore Orioles

[sevastras]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-orioles-lawsuit-20140325,0,6609988.story

While it is very unfortunate that some one, let alone a 10 year old girl, was hurt so badly by a batting practice ball, this is just over the top. My first reaction was poor girl. My second reaction was, "Don't they know one of the most prominent lawyers in MD owns the O's?"

[Loophole]

Pretty much standard procedure with these sorts of things. Not really a story.

[scOtt]

Read one sentence of the article and closed it. Didn't need to read a ticket stub either.

It is the policy of The Baltimore Orioles and Major League Baseball that they assume no liability for any batted balls yada yada. On the back of EVERY ticket you all or I have EVER bought.

Very sad for that family but frivolous lawsuit thread!

[scOtt]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-orioles-lawsuit-20140325,0,6609988.story

While it is very unfortunate that some one, let alone a 10 year old girl, was hurt so badly by a batting practice ball, this is just over the top. My first reaction was poor girl. My second reaction was, "Don't they know one of the most prominent lawyers in MD owns the O's?"

Big Peter is not even a factor in this case. You could look at the back page of your phone book and find any lawyer who would win this case. Pick one at random.

[scOtt]

Not to pile on...

August 23, 2013

The lawsuit states Dempsey was not attempting to catch balls during batting practice, and the usher didn't warn her of the danger of being hit by one. "In fact, as a ten year old, she would not have been able to see batting practice over the right field wall where she was directed to stand," it states.

To start 2013 the RF Flag Court wall that even I couldn't see over... was already replaced with the new railing. That ANYONE could look over and see the very base of the wall even. So the lawsuit itself is WRONG. LIES even.

[OsLuvrInKy]

The lawsuit states Dempsey was not attempting to catch balls during batting practice, and the usher didn't warn her of the danger of being hit by one. "In fact, as a ten year old, she would not have been able to see batting practice over the right field wall where she was directed to stand," it states.

Then how did she get hit if she was behind a wall she could not see over?

[waroriole]

Read one sentence of the article and closed it. Didn't need to read a ticket stub either.

It is the policy of The Baltimore Orioles and Major League Baseball that they assume no liability for any batted balls yada yada. On the back of EVERY ticket you all or I have EVER bought.

Very sad for that family but frivolous lawsuit thread!

Claiming no liability doesn't absolve you of liability.

[Orioles0615]

All the talk about pitchers getting padded hats and with the extra protection added in front of the dugout, has extending the backstop net to the end of the dugouts ever come up before?

[brooks1083]

I wouldn't call the suit frivolous. I don't agree with it, but if the family is only seeking $75k they're obviously not trying to cash in BIG time. As a fan of the team, you would like for them to step out and offer to cover the girls medical expenses. At the same time, it would set a precedence for every money hungry person to come out of the woodwork.

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[harp6]

This is very sad for the girl. Nine hours of surgery sounds awful. But who is to blame? The stepfather. But our human nature and our society always wants to point the finger at someone else and blame them for our own mistakes and failures. It says that the usher did not warn them that they could be hit by a batted ball. The tickets say to watch for batted balls. There are signs around the stadium. They are at a baseball game. It is the stepfather's responsibility to protect his own daughter. He is an adult and should know that during batting practice and the game, balls leave the playing field and go into the stands.

So my response to Joseph Kraft, man up and take the blame. Don't be a coward and blame other people. The blame game is the easy way out. The hard part is admitting that you made a mistake. You need to set an example to your stepdaughter of what a true man does. Admit that you did not protect her like you should and apologize to her and ask for her forgiveness.

That doesn't take the O's completely off the hook. It should be a reminder to the O's that they do need to remind and train the staff about safety and looking out and reminding people about batted balls. Especially those that are not paying attention or have their back to the field. They may already do this and do it well for all I know.

[Guest rochester]

I wouldn't call the suit frivolous. I don't agree with it, but if the family is only seeking $75k they're obviously not trying to cash in BIG time. As a fan of the team, you would like for them to step out and offer to cover the girls medical expenses. At the same time, it would set a precedence for every money hungry person to come out of the woodwork.

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Actually, as is typical, the family is seeking more than $75,000 in damages. My guess is that there are damages than can be documented for a long time in the future.

I don't believe that there is anyone to blame personally. It is a horrible, horrible accident that left a young child in surgery for nine hours! This was no boo-boo. We don't know if counsel made an attempt to settle - or - filing the suit will lead to this negotiation.

[MrOrange82]

Charla Nash has asked the state of Connecticut for permission to sue...Connecticut...for $150 million. The reason? She lost her hands and most of her face after being attacked by her friend's pet chimp.

Never mind that the chimp had attacked multiple people in the past. Never mind that Nash had volunteered to help the chimp's owner get the chimp back into its house (a private home).

But that's what people do. They want other people (i.e., deep-pocketed companies and taxpayers) to compensate them when things go badly, and they file lawsuits.

Sucks, but it is what it is.

[24fps]

I'm surprised more people aren't injured. Some of the foul balls that make it into the lower level box seats are absolute rockets. In this day and age it's hard to make the case that this would be surprising to anyone less isolated than say a Tibetian Yak herder though. I hope the little girl is OK.

[atomic]

I feel for the girl but I don't see how they could prevent this other then cover the entire seating area with netting. Some girl I think was killed in a NHL game and they added netting above the glass on the ends I believe.

The family is not only sueing the Orioles they are also sueing the Maryland Stadium Authority.

Closing the stadium until batting practice is over is not a solution as you could just as easily be hit by a foul ball during the game.

[Odenton O]

I don't know what the current state of the law is, but years ago there were court cases that found that by attending a baseball game, you were assuming the risk of being struck by a batted ball. (In fact, this was how the concept of assumption of risk was introduced in my Torts class.) This is why all those signs exist, so that no one can go to the game and claim they didn't know there was a risk of being hit by a ball. Unless things have changed in the intervening years, I'm guess this suit has no legs and the lawyers are just fishing for a settlement.

I feel bad for the family, it must be a horrible thing to go through, and honestly, probably isn't anyone's fault. I was at a game with my family maybe 4-5 years ago, and we were sitting in the centerfield bleachers. Somebody hit a homerun that landed right in our row. We all saw it coming, and it still wound up hitting one of my sister's friends, who wound up with a souvenier and huge bruise on her thigh. She was able to protect herself because she she it coming at her, but if you aren't expecting it, those things can be dangerous.