Dominic DiAngi, 7, received a fractured skull this week from a foul ball hit by Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly. Dominic needed CPR and only recently was transferred from intensive care in Chicago.
While I am a Cubs fan by birth right, Wrigley has always been a prime arena for torts. Indeed, I use Wrigley as the context in my torts class each year for discussing the proper form of liability for injuries in sports stadium: negligence or strict liability.
Baseball teams make the conscious decision not to put up nets to allow balls to be caught and vision unobstructed. However, that also increases the chances of injury — particularly among middle-aged men sitting in the bleachers with their tee-shirts wrapped around their heads and drinking Hams beer.
Courts have always applied negligence with a heavy dose of assumption of the risk to limit liability in such cases.
In the meantime, Cubs players are showering little Dom with gifts and calls. One witness has made the ultimate sacrifice. The guy who caught the door contacted Dominic’s father and gave him the ball. His dad says “Dominic won¹t let go of the ball. He’s holding onto that ball right now.” It is not clear if he is gripping it out of an act of affection or self-protection.
His now joins a White Sox fan, 9-year-old Griffin Cox who also received a skull fracture while watching a White Sox game in June.
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I saw that story and I was happy last night to hear on the local news that the boy is doing better now. That you should teach that young man to become a White Sox fan!
People that want to go see drugged up men whose only life skill is playing a children’s game very well need to get a life. Now it appears our ‘professional sports players” are loading up on ritalin to “improve” their games.
That being said, I hope anybody injured at a “professional” sports game sues the team out of business……
Go get ‘em ambulance chasers!
rafflaw:
I agree with Professor Turley that the leagues have known for years that these types of injuries were largely preventable by installing more and larger screens. Unfortunately the “it costs too much argument” has prevented that simple precaution along with the Courts’ archaic concept of knowing assumption of risk providing cover for this negligence. Funny that hockey has no such reluctance to protect its fans from likely risk of pucks leaving the playing service. The theory of assumption of risk likely won’t apply to a child of that age, so a suit may be in the offing, although I note with interest the father’s fawning statement. It seems to me that his child’s long term health risk from this TBI would be of more concern to him than a token buy off with trinkets from the Club.
I do take substantive issue with Professor Turley on one crucial point however. I am firmly convinced that the old timers at Wrigley are “Old Style” beer drinkers and that “Hamms” was reserved for the White Sox crowd. For proof, here’s the pertinent cite from “The Old Style Polka” that I have heard at the Park:
“So have another Old Style,
all our friends are here,
We’re livin Old Style
Old Style beer”
Mespo,
I seem to remember Harry Caray doing White Sox games from center field at old Comiskey Park and he was ordering Falstaff beer on the air. That was baseball! I remember the old Hamms commercials on the Cubs game broadcasts. “From the land of sky blue waters” was the refrain that I remember being connected to Hamms beer.
As to the father of the injured boy and his desire for Cubs “stuff”, remember, he is a Cubs fan. They have suffered long and hard and as a Sox fan, that is just alright by me.
rafflaw:
I used to spend a few days every summer in Chicago enjoying the Cubs and Harry Caray. I always thought Harry was among the finest proponents for baseball and beer drinking; singing, now that was another matter. I always enjoyed seeing the rooftop bleachers just beyond right center field on Sheffield Avenue and thinking those guys and gals knew how to party.
Mespo,
I didn’t spend much time at Wrigley. As a White Sox fan, it wasn’t too safe to be seen at Wrigley Fiedl. Especially if you were wearing a Sox hat!
I have a question for Professor Turley (I’m sure a lot of people have a lot of questions for the Professor). It’s totally off-topic but I wasn’t sure where to post my query so I thought I’d just put it in the latest comment section:
I just read that Amtrak intends to begin a program of randomly targeting riders for searches and scans of their luggage. If their initial “scan” turns up a “hit” then they will search your luggage by hand. This is incredibly invasive for simple domestic travel. We’ve seen such an extreme militarization of this country in the past several years and I find it very disturbing.
My question is, if I were to refuse to comply with a search what could happen to me?
Besides being tasered, I mean.
Mojo: If you don’t like my rights to be safe traveling by a small amount of infringement on “your rights” move to France then.
The Islamic radicals intent on killing anybody that shows a bit of resistance like the French surrender monkeys.
Russ: Thanks for your response. Based on your above comment you seem to be a very level-headed person and a true patriot.
Now blow me.
Anybody else here feel like sacrificing their rights and freedoms so Mr. Wussy here can feel a little safer?
How does your husband feel about it, Russ?
mojo: typical whiner.
Ah, spoken like a true Phil Gramm flunky …
What are you even doing at this place? You’re not even playing in this league. Go back to the safety and comfort of Ann Coulter’s teet!
I received this in answer to my post about Dommy,
Hello there,
Dominics father here.
Thank you for the very kind words.
He is doing well. He is back to school and back to playing ball.
He still goes to therapy ( speech) and reading comprehension.
All in all he is prob. 85% himself.
Were all just glad to have him around period.
There is a special account that was opened for him at the Marquette Bank,
14300 82nd Av. Orland Park Illinois. But as of this date the balance is at 0.
I guess word never spread. But thats fine. Were just plugging along, knowing its all in gods hands anyway.
Thanx again.
Pete and Dominic
Annie