mreye Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I didn't see this posted. Link St. John man sues White Sox in federal court A St. John man filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Chicago White Sox, claiming he was badly hurt at a game in June 2007 when fans rushed to snatch a promotional T-shirt fired from a cannon into the stands. David Babusiak's back was hurt by rushing fans in the box seats along the first base line, his attorney David Holub said. "I think it's a fairly serious injury," Holub said. White Sox spokesman Lou Hernandez said team officials had not seen the suit Thursday. Hernandez said he believed the T-shirts are usually tossed, not fired from a cannon. Sox games are safe, Hernandez said. "We certainly go above and beyond to make sure it's a safe environment for all of our fans," Hernandez said. Babusiak and his wife, Catherine, are suing the team, U.S. Cellular Field and the White Sox Chevrolet Pride Crew in Hammond federal court. The lawsuit claims the Babusiaks were in the stands as the Sox played the Houston Astros on June 8, 2007. David Babusiak was near his seat when a member of the Chevrolet Pride Crew used a "projectile cannon" to shoot a T-shirt near the plaintiff. The crowd knocked David Babusiak down, and the fall caused "severe injury," according to the suit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 What a douche bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreye Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 I haven't been to more than a game or two each of the last few years, but I seem to remember the girls throwing the T-shirts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Two years later? Weird. And the quote from the lawyer.... "I think it's a fairly serious injury"... WTF? Asshole lawyer right there. You don't know that it is, you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 DJ threw me a t-shirt a couple of years ago when I was in the scout seats. They are Chevy Sox t-shirts. Cheap. I saw a guy knock over a little girl trying to get one. They should just stop the practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reddy Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 we should dress up like the chevy pride crew and use potato canons and launch s*** at his house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 (edited) I thought it was going to be a funny one...that Sox fans were suing to get a return of their season ticket checks because KW didn't make a "reasonable" effort to improve the ballclub from 2008 to 2009, especially pertaining to the leadoff position. As far as the lawsuit goes, that's the kind of thing that makes the US so great!!! And why there are no diving boards at hotel pools anymore...isn't there a waiver on the ticket stub that would be a "blanket" coverage to something like that? Certainly, there is for batted or thrown balls or bats flying into the stands. Suing GM now? Get in line there, buddy. I could see the argument if he didn't even get out of his seat, he was sitting down, and a huge pile of people landed on him and broke his neck or paralyzed him from the waist down....it's all about the "reasonable standard of care," did the White Sox knowingly create dangerous or risky situations in the stands by firing t-shirts into them? How would doing that be any more dangerous than going after a ball or bat? I guess because one is deliberate/intentional, the other is random/chance/probability-related and part of the game and "expected," although everyone knows about the t-shirt cannons in MLB parks and minor league stadiums all across the US. If it's becoming too dangerous, they should just hand them out or toss them directly to little children (and hope the adults don't dive over the kids or act like drink a-holes). Obviously they're just looking to make a quick buck, the economy is hurting this guy probably and he said, "Why not sue and see if they can settle out of court?" for $15-50,000? I am not sure what the legal precedent here is in terms of similar situations...the lawyer doesn't strike me as one who actually wants to set a precedent, he just wants his 40-60% cut. Edited April 10, 2009 by caulfield12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 10, 2009 -> 11:49 AM) we should dress up like the chevy pride crew and use potato canons and launch s*** at his house. DA brings up a good point, though. People DO become absolute idiots for a "FREE!!!!!" T-shirt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almagest Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Yeah, this'll most likely get tossed out of court pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreye Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 10, 2009 -> 10:49 AM) we should dress up like the chevy pride crew and use potato canons and launch s*** at his house. St John is 5 minutes north of me. Meet at my house? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamshack Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 10, 2009 -> 11:49 AM) I thought it was going to be a funny one...that Sox fans were suing to get a return of their season ticket checks because KW didn't make a "reasonable" effort to improve the ballclub from 2008 to 2009, especially pertaining to the leadoff position. As far as the lawsuit goes, that's the kind of thing that makes the US so great!!! And why there are no diving boards at hotel pools anymore...isn't there a waiver on the ticket stub that would be a "blanket" coverage to something like that? Certainly, there is for batted or thrown balls or bats flying into the stands. Suing GM now? Get in line there, buddy. I could see the argument if he didn't even get out of his seat, he was sitting down, and a huge pile of people landed on him and broke his neck or paralyzed him from the waist down....it's all about the "reasonable standard of care," did the White Sox knowingly create dangerous or risky situations in the stands by firing t-shirts into them? How would doing that be any more dangerous than going after a ball or bat? I guess because one is deliberate/intentional, the other is random/chance/probability-related and part of the game and "expected," although everyone knows about the t-shirt cannons in MLB parks and minor league stadiums all across the US. The guy is probably just hoping the Sox will settle with him out of court rather than contest the suit. The fact is, one can raise a legal argument charging harm in almost any situation. Sometimes people get hurt. It is a fact of life. Otherwise, we should all just stay home and avoid other humans or other environments other than our own. This is the sort of thing that made me decide not to practice law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reddy Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 QUOTE (mreye @ Apr 10, 2009 -> 11:52 AM) St John is 5 minutes north of me. Meet at my house? done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justBLAZE Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Doesn't the back of the ticket say organization is not responsibly of injuries that happen during the game, by baseballs, bats, etc. Wouldn't that be enough to have the case dismissed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 (edited) It would be like the Adenhart family suing the drunken driver and his insurance company (hopefully he had coverage) for $100 million, projecting that's how much money Nick would have earned for his family had he not been killed at age 22...although I am sure the insurance company involved is probably pretty nervous about just such a lawsuit. If it was just an accident, that's one thing, but the added elements of fleeing the scene and drunk driving push it into another category of actionable offense/cause. Edited April 10, 2009 by caulfield12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoSox05 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 You wanna see humanity at its best. Toss a 5 dollar t-shirt into a crowd of people and watch them freak out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjshoe04 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 What an Ass. Maude Flanders was killed for a T-shirt and Ned didn't sue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 (edited) QUOTE (tommy @ Apr 10, 2009 -> 10:54 AM) Doesn't the back of the ticket say organization is not responsibly of injuries that happen during the game, by baseballs, bats, etc. Wouldn't that be enough to have the case dismissed? That's just the question...is the waiver/disclaimer all-encompassing or "blanketing" to cover in-game activities like this...or someone accidentally getting hurt at the Fundamentals Deck? Do you have to sign a special waiver there? Let's say someone blows out their arm trying to throw 80 MPH on the radar gun, can you then sue the White Sox, or someone has a heart attack from turning on the Sox shower in CF? Or let's say the guy in box seats is really drunk (his vendor didn't cut him off?) and he's hit by a batted or thrown ball and sues the club for not preventing him from getting completely wasted, contributing to his slower reaction time? Edited April 10, 2009 by caulfield12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostfan Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 QUOTE (almagest @ Apr 10, 2009 -> 12:52 PM) Yeah, this'll most likely get tossed out of court pretty quickly. Probably, I mean you can't sue a team or MLB for getting hit by flying baseballs, bats, etc. so I don't see how this is different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkfan Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 We gotta find out what this guy looks like and never let him into another White Sox bar, or a game, to exile him from all white sox activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Critic Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 QUOTE (lostfan @ Apr 10, 2009 -> 11:00 AM) Probably, I mean you can't sue a team or MLB for getting hit by flying baseballs, bats, etc. so I don't see how this is different. Well, I can see how a case can be made that it is different to get "stampeded" by people when a cheapo t-shirt is thrown or shot into the crowd by employees of the team. T-shirt cannons are not a "normal" expectation at a baseball game in the same way a ball or even a bat might be, although if this guy had been to a game in the last few years he should have known that this happens and just stayed home. You never think it can happen to you, though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthsideDon48 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Don't they only use the cannons for shooting shirts to the upper deck? Cause I remember the last couple times I went to Sox games that they threw all the shirts at the lower deck and used the cannons for the far-out upper deck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanOfCorn Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Maybe the Sox should settle in t-shirts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Critic Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Apr 10, 2009 -> 11:15 AM) Don't they only use the cannons for shooting shirts to the upper deck? Cause I remember the last couple times I went to Sox games that they threw all the shirts at the lower deck and used the cannons for the far-out upper deck. I think they'd need the cannon to reach the back of the lower bowl. Those chicks ain't got big arms! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Critic Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Apr 10, 2009 -> 11:16 AM) Maybe the Sox should settle in t-shirts? That would seriously be fantastic. "Judgment for the plaintiff in the amount of 4,500 White Sox Pride Crew t-shirts....and they must be delivered to his home, since he couldn't possibly lift the box anymore." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSqwert Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 QUOTE (The Critic @ Apr 10, 2009 -> 12:20 PM) I think they'd need the cannon to reach the back of the lower bowl. Those chicks ain't got big arms! I never really looked at their arms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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