Court: Woman Seriously Injured By Foul Ball Can't Sue

[Champ]

BOSTON -- A woman who was seriously injured by a foul ball at Fenway Park has no grounds to sue because she assumed a risk by attending the baseball game, a state appeals court ruled.

The Red Sox "had no duty to warn the plaintiff of the obvious danger of a foul ball being hit into the stands," the court said Wednesday in blocking Jane Costa's personal injury lawsuit from going to trial.

The three-member panel said that even someone with scant knowledge of baseball should realize that "a central feature of the game is that batters will forcefully hit balls that may go astray from their intended direction."

Costa, who was injured in 1998, sued the team for $486,909 in lost wages and medical expenses. She had been sitting about 20 rows behind the Red Sox dugout when Boston's Darren Lewis hit the foul ball.

http://www.wftv.com/newsofthestrange/3403067/detail.html

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. This makes me embaressed to be a Bostonian.

But then again, there are fucking retards everywhere.

[Richardo]

2. Read the back of your ticket. The warning is there.

Plus a lot of stadiums have an announcement about errant bats and balls before the game.

[peekaloo]

6. Fun fact

MLB's arse is covered BUT it is possible to sue/seek medical costs restitution from the stadium. It happened a few times at a venue where I onced worked. People who had been hit by balls would be escorted from their seats not only for medical evaluation but also to sign waivers against future legal action against the stadium.

The ones who pursued action were usually settled out of court and kept quiet.

[trotsky]

3. She may not have a legal option,

but I'm sure the Red Sox organization doesn't want to help her because doing so might be construed as admitting fault.

Still, you wish something could be worked out. Yes, foul balls go astray, but they rarely injure people so severely.

[trumad]

5. Huhhh...whaaaaa

[harrison]

4. Assumption of the risk is an old legal doctrine. There are

activities that are inherently dangerous or have some risk to them, and if you freely attend to those activities then the theory is that you have no one to blame but yourself. Obviously, the court believes that attending a baseball game is something of a risky venture.