Assumption of Risk

You've been warned. 1

This past Wednesday night, a four-year-old girl was hospitalized after being hit by a foul ball rocketing at over 100 miles per hour off of the bat of Chicago Cubs centerfielder Albert Almora, Jr. during the fourth inning of the Cubs' game at Minute Maid Park against the Houston Astros. Major League Baseball had several high-profile incidents of fans being injured by foul balls hit into the stands. In 2018, all thirty MLB clubs extended netting at their parks to the ends of the dugouts. That same season, a 79-year-old Dodgers fan, Linda Goldbloom died four days after being hit by a foul ball, despite the extension of the protective netting. It was not enough.

Linda Goldbloom, shortly before being stuck by a foul ball, resulting in her death. 2

Major League Baseball has been immune from negligence under the so-called "Baseball Rule," an inconspicuous disclaimer on the back of its tickets for admission declaring that the fans assumes the risk of injury a a result of the game of baseball. The general legal principle of "assumption of risk" is that a plaintiff who voluntarily assumes a risk of harm arising from the negligent or reckless conduct of the defendant cannot recover for such harm. 3 The result, under the law, has been a blanket immunity for baseball clubs from liability for injuries to spectators resulting from missiles and shrapnel in the form of foul balls and broken bats. However, the notion that a four-year-old or a 79-year-old assumes the risk of hospitalization or death from a night at the ballpark strains credulity, at best, and, in the view of this blogger, is ludicrous. 

FIX IT

While the vast majority of normal, decent human beings, including MLB executives, likely have compassion for people injured in these infrequent, yet potentially tragic, accidents, compassion alone will not help the people who are hurt, nor will it reduce the future chances of such carnage upon its fans, who are the reason there is revenue in baseball. There are two simple solutions to further minimize the risks of  these atrocious consequences during what should be a family friendly outing. The first is Major League Baseball extends its protective netting, all but invisible to the spectator's naked eye, to the foul poles (or farther if reasonably necessary), shielding fans from line drives blasted off of the bats of world class athletes. The second solution is the legal system ruling that fans do not reasonably assume the risks of maimed children or dead parents from watching baseball, hitting MLB and its multi-billion dollar revenue stream where it could hurt. People respond accordingly to pain.

Another possibility is the display of this video with full audio before every at-bat. 4

  

1) Image from https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/fan-sues-red-sox-owner-john-henry-after-fenway-foul-ball-injury/

2) Image from https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019/02/05/dodger-stadium-woman-killed-foul-ball/

3) Source: Restat 2d of Torts, § 496A (2nd 1979)
4) Images, in part, from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJSScYHHcl4