Fan sues Red Sox owner John Henry after Fenway foul ball injury
Possibly incomplete renovations at Fenway's EMC Club might have opened the legal door for the Red Sox to be sued.
By
Dave Brown
•
1 min read
A disclaimer is printed on the back of every Major League Baseball ticket that is supposed to limit the legal liability of the home team in case the fan becomes injured at the game. It's supposed to mean the fan can't sue if he or she were hit by a foul ball, or a bat, or a piece of a bat. But, this being the United States of America, someone can always try to sue. It's just a matter of the courts allowing it.
A woman from Brookline, Mass. is suing Boston Red Sox principal owner John Henry, the Boston Globe reported on Friday, after being injured by a foul ball at Fenway Park in 2014. Fans are hurt by flying objects, to some degree, in every ballpark in every season. Here's what makes her case different enough to engender a negligence suit against Henry:
According to Taubin's complaint, she was in an area above home plate known as the EMC Club on June 17, 2014. Protective glass had been removed for renovations, leaving the area, previously known as the 406 Club, "at greater risk of foul balls entering that [section] of Fenway Park," the filing said.
Taubin was struck by a foul ball and suffered injuries including facial fractures and neurological damage, her complaint said. She has also incurred medical expenses, lost wages, and diminished earning capacity, according to the lawsuit.
The amount the suit seeks is not known.
As the Globe story notes, Taubin's complaint comes after a pair of "harrowing" injuries at Fenway Park that have helped to start a larger conversation about ballpark safety. Most notably, the woman who had "life-threatening" injuries after being struck by part of a broken bat and needed several days in a hospital in order to recuperate. Based on this and other incidents, it's not so much a matter of if teams across the league are going to add more netting and other safety measures, but how much?
Based on the specificity of Taubin's complaint -- that there used to be protective glass, and it was taken away -- it wouldn't seem that her lawsuit would bring a flood of others. But, no matter the legal outcome, her incident and others at Fenway probably should prompt Henry to act in some capacity regarding fan safety.
