Fan safety has become a hot topic around baseball this season following a string of injuries stemming from foul balls and broken bats entering the stands. Expect it to become a topic with even greater urgency now that a fan is suing the Boston Red Sox over injuries suffered from a foul ball last season.
According to the Washington Post, 46-year-old Stephanie Taubin is suing Red Sox owner John Henry after she was struck by a foul ball and suffered multiple head and facial injuries during a game on June 17, 2014.
As noted in the report, teams are usually protected from lawsuits under the fine print or "The Baseball Rule," which says that by purchasing a ticket and going to a game, fans are putting themselves in danger and assuming liability. "The Baseball Rule" is rarely challenged. However, an Idaho court ruled in February of 2013 that a fan could seek damages after losing his eye after being hit by a foul ball at a Boise Hawks game in 2008.
In that case specifically, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that Idaho lawmakers had not created such a rule and the team and stadium owners could not get blanket protection from liability by printing a disclaimer on a ticket stub.
In a previous court case in Massachusetts, "The Baseball Rule" was upheld, but there might be an opening in this case allowing it to be dismissed. At the time Taubin was injured, Fenway Park was undergoing renovations. The lawsuit alleges those renovations directly impacted fan safety and led to the fan's injuries.
Stephanie Taubin’s complaint alleges the protective glass that was supposed to guard the seats above home plate where she was sitting had been removed while the stadium underwent renovations, the Boston Globe reports after obtaining a copy of the filing submitted on Wednesday. That left the area “at greater risk of foul balls entering that [section] of Fenway Park,” the filing said.
Taubin suffered facial fractures and neurological damage from the ball’s impact, the complaint alleges, costing her quite a bit of money in medical expenses, lost wages and diminished earning capacity, the suit claims.
Under the circumstances, a judge could rule the Red Sox were overriding the fine print and acknowledging some degree of risk by putting the protective glass in place. When renovations began, they again exposed fans to risk by removing the glass and allowing them to continue sitting in those unprotected seats.
It's an interesting case that may or may not hold up, but regardless could force the hand of teams at every level of professional baseball.
On Thursday, we learned that MLB was "actively studying" ways to improve fan safety, but the time to make these changes is running out. The longer teams go without extra protective netting and whatever other measures they determine are needed, they keep the door open for more injuries to occur and other cases that may go against them.
It's also worth noting the most serious fan incident this season also happened at Fenway Park when Tonya Carpenter was struck on the head by the barrel of a broken bat. She spent a week in the hospital recovering from what were initially feared to be life-threatening injuries.
The Red Sox, more than anyone, understand the importance and urgency of this issue. And they may be the first MLB team to truly pay for not having enough safety measures in place.
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