Georgia Injury Lawyers Blog
A man who was temporarily blinded in one eye—and who may lose the eye altogether—after a foul ball struck him in the face at Wrigley Field this summer has filed a personal injury suit against the Chicago Cubs and Major League baseball. The suit alleges that the two parties failed to install enough safety netting at the field to protect him and other plaintiffs and seeks at least $50,000 in damages. The plaintiff, 60-year-old John “Jay” Loos, said he has undergone three surgeries to repair his severely damaged left eye and the five bones in his face shattered by the foul ball that struck him as he sat down the first base line during a game between the Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 29.
Loos’s lawsuit comes at a time of increased scrutiny and criticism of the MLB’s safety practices. Many are calling on major league teams to extend their safety netting farther down the lines to protect fans sitting there like the netting that protects the fans sitting behind home plate. The MLB has acknowledged that fans would like the option to sit behind netting. “It is important that fans have the option to sit behind protective netting or in other areas of the ballpark where foul balls and bats are less likely to enter,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “This recommendation attempts to balance the need for an adequate number of seating options with our desire to preserve the interactive pre-game and in-game fan experience that often centers around the dugouts, where fans can catch foul balls, see their favorite players up close and, if they are lucky, catch a tossed ball or other souvenir.”
The suit also comes on the heels of another incident in New York, in which a two-year-old child was struck in the face by a line drive foul ball at Yankee Stadium. After the girl was hit in New York, Manfred said the MLB has worked with teams to expand netting in ballparks before and would “redouble our efforts on this important issue.” A spokesman for the Chicago Cubs said the team had not seen the lawsuit but declined comment. Days after the child was struck in New York, Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney said the team would extend the netting already in place by at least 30 feet down lines. And on Monday, an attorney for Loos, Colin Dunn, said he’d contacted the Cubs and was encouraged by what they said, but declined to elaborate further.
Contact an Atlanta Personal Injury Attorney Today to Schedule a Free Case Evaluation
If you have been injured by a rogue baseball while you were a spectator or in any other sports-related injury that was the result of negligence, you may be able to recover through a personal injury action. Contact the attorneys at Slappey & Sadd for a free consultation to discuss your case by calling 404.255.6677. We serve the entire state of Georgia, including the following locations: Roswell, Sandy Springs, and Marietta.