Charlottesville Personal Injury Lawyer - Baseball

Aluminum Bat Manufacturer Found Liable For Player’s Death

Greg Webb — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:58:24 GMT

After twelve hours of deliberation, a jury in Lewis and Clark County, Montana recently sided with the parents of former Miles City American Legion baseball pitcher Brandon Patch, who died after being struck in the temple by a batted ball in a 2003 baseball game against the Helena Senators. Hillerich & Bradsby Co., an aluminum bat manufacturer best known for their Louisville Slugger bats, was found liable for Patch’s death because it failed to provide adequate warning as to the dangers of the bat used by a Helena Senators batter. Hillerich & Bradsby Co.’s attorneys argued any other bat would not have hit the ball any differently; in fact, they claimed most bats on the market would have stuck the ball even harder and that Patch’s death was a tragic accident. The Patch family’s attorneys, however, argued Brandon only had 378 milliseconds to respond to the batted ball, whereas most bats on average give 400 milliseconds to respond. The bat manufacturer was ordered to pay $792,000 to Patch’s estate. The funds were allocated to cover the earnings Patch would have made had he lived, and the pain he suffered for four hours after the injury before ultimately dying. Another $58,000 was awarded to Patch’s parents for funeral expenses and their mental grief.

Aluminum bats have faced a lot of scrutiny due to their internal wall structure and because their weight is more evenly distributed than wooden ones, making them easier to swing harder and faster. A third decision made in the suit was that the bat was not defective, therefore making it more dangerous like the Patch family attorneys claimed. The Patch family said the suit was never about the money but was to get adequate warning about the dangers of these bats so something like this will not happen again. They have also started to advocate for the use of wooden bats. Brandon Patch’s baseball team reverted to wooden bats after his death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

Alarming Data in the Amount of Children Injured While Playing Baseball

Greg Webb — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:00:00 GMT

While baseball may seem to be a fairly safe sport, researchers have found that over a thirteen year period, more than one and a half million players under eighteen years of age were injured enough to be treated in emergency rooms. Although it is unclear how many children are involved in the sport, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) claims there are about six million in leagues and another thirteen million playing baseball on their own.

Researchers discovered this alarming data after analyzing a nationally representative sample of emergency room visits from baseball-related injuries during the years 1994 to 2006 using data that was gathered by the CPSC. Though most of the injuries were minor and more than ninety-eight percent were treated in the emergency room and released, 24,350 required hospitalization, mostly due to fractures and concussions.

The data has shown a decline in the amount of injuries from 147,357 in 1994 to 110,602 in 2006 possibly due to improvements in equipment. For example, the most common injuries were caused by children being hit by the ball, however, the now softer safety balls have been offering more protection. A separate study has also shown there have been no facial injuries to batters wearing helmets with face guards. Doctors hope there can also be a change to encourage children to wear mouth guards while playing the sport for added protection.

It seems clear to this writer that the improvements in safety equipment have helped to reduce injuries. Having played baseball as a young man from age 7 to 18, when we did not use batting gloves and wore metal spikes, it is nice to see the game is a bit safer than in the "old days" when I played. But, for traditionalists, it may be shocking to see a young person going to bat with a helmet and face mask, and hitting a "safety ball". I guess it depends upon the angle from which you view the situation, but it is hard to argue with the above numbers.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb