If you have ever been to a major league baseball game, or any professional sporting event, you likely have not taken the time to read the back of the ticket which is crammed with fine print. Among the things written on the back of tickets, there is almost always a clause disclaiming any and all liability for personal injuries sustained at the venue.
Major League Baseball teams have long included on the backs of tickets language stating that fans assume all risks and dangers incidental to the sport of baseball, protecting the teams and the league from liability for injuries caused to fans during the game.
These personal injuries are mostly caused by broken bats and foul balls. This is referred to as the assumption of risk doctrine and courts across the country have upheld these waivers, finding that major league baseball is not responsible for injuries to fans that are related to the play of the game. However, as the number of fans being injured at games continues to increase, this may all change.
Two court cases that are currently pending may wind up changing how easily baseball can protect itself with the assumption of risk doctrine. The first case regards Andy Zlotnick, who took his son and two friends to a Yankees game in 2011 only to have all of the bones in his eye socket broken, his sinus and upper jaw fractured, and major damage to the entire left side of his face due to a foul ball. As a result of the injuries, he incurred $100,000 in medical bills, including $25,000.00 that he had to pay out of his own pocket.
At that Yankees game, it was raining but the game was not called off. Where Mr. Zlotnick was sitting, he was surrounded by so many open umbrellas he could not see the pitcher or the batter and within a second of the crack of the bat he was on the ground. While the Yankees have tried to assert the assumption of risk doctrine, Mr. Zlotnick is arguing that because of how fast the ball came and the danger posed by the umbrellas, he had no chance to avoid the danger, and you cannot assume a risk that you cannot even protect yourself against. Mr. Zlotnick is also asserting that the Yankees negligently enhanced the danger posed by foul balls by allowing umbrellas in the stands.
Many teams in baseball do not allow open umbrellas in the venue due to the safety concerns, but the Yankees are not one of them. However, the team has begun banning oversize umbrellas and the use of umbrellas that block a fan’s site line.
In an unrelated class action law suit against Major League Baseball, the plaintiffs are claiming that MLB has failed to enact simple and common sense solutions to protect fans from broken bats and foul balls, such as enlarging its safety nets at all ball parks. According to the complaint, the combination of new ballparks where seats are closer to the action, more power pitching causing late swings, and more distractions designed to keep fans engaged, such as larger jumbo screens, even fans that are paying attention cannot always get out of the way of a hard hit foul ball.
It is worth noting that the National Hockey League required all teams to use larger and better safety nets around the ice within months after a young girl was fatally injured in 2002.
Here in Philadelphia, the Phillies do not ban over-sized umbrellas but request that fans be considerate of others when using an umbrella. The team also has a liability waiver stating guests assume all risks and dangers inherent in baseball and specifically mentions that guests recognize the many elements that can distract their attention from a game, noting video boards, scoreboards and the activities of the Phillie Phanatic.
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