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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