[Phaze5ive]

Local News:

Jury Awards $850,000 In Louisville Slugger Case

A Montana jury took a swing at the makers of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat.

The panel ruled in favor of a family who sued the company for not warning users about the dangers of using aluminum bats.

The verdict means Hillerich and Bradsby is on the hook for $850,000. The company said it's not sure what it means beyond that because the jury also decided there was nothing wrong with the product.

“We think that most players understand the risk that they're taking when they step onto the field,” said Hillerich and Bradsby spokesman Rick Redman.

In 2003, 18-year-old Brandon Patch died after being hit in the head by a ball he threw to a batter. That batter was using an aluminum Louisville Slugger.

Patch family attorneys argued the manufacturer did not provide proper warning about the dangers of using aluminum bats.

A jury awarded the family a total of $850,000, including $750,000 in lost wages.

“We came into this not knowing. We were just hoping to prevail for Brandon. This is for Brandon and for the other kids on the field,” said his mother Deb Patch.

“I think we're all kind of wondering if this is even an indictment of the entire game of baseball,” said Redman.

Redman pointed to the fact that the jury did not find the product to be defective. He doesn't know if the company will now have to put special labels on metal bats, but he fears it could change sport as we know it.

“It's really a statement on the society that we live in today that we have to have a warning label on everything and that you just wonder if we're heading down that path more and more of being a nanny state,” said Redman.

Redman said Hillerich and Bradsby is considering whether to appeal the decision.

There is still an outstanding case in New Jersey against the company involving a teen paralyzed by a line drive that came off an aluminum Louisville Slugger.

For future reference, baseball bats hit baseballs that may hit you. Try not to die, k? Thanks.

I think the parents and the lawyer that represented them should go jump off a bridge. Take the jury with them too.

[i_4got]

The company needs to appeal that decision pronto. What a ridiculous ruling. I understand if the judge wants to sympathize with the family, but this is just ridiculous.

For the record, I wonder if that mother has warning labels on her kitchen knives too. I mean, she might accidentally cut off a finger or something. Poor woman. /sarcasm

[xkrn4lyfx]

there's nothing defective with the product and there's nothing the baseball bat manufacturers need to change.... just wth happened in the court room?

it's called an ACCIDENT, more or less, mini cooper HAPPENS. why not just appeal to the case by saying that brandon wasn't holding the baseball bat correctly since his form was off? then he wasn't using the baseball bat in the intended manner. with the same jury this should also pass. the only trajectory that can rebound off a bat into the player is if the ball was near his body in the first place, hence he shouldn't have swung since it was a bad choice, hence wasn't using the baseball bat as intended.
lSKejf;skj;

i hate stupid people, they make the world stupider every time they open their mouths. i should sue this family for environmental pollution, they pollute the world with their stupidity.

p.s. kudos to the lawyer tho, he really pulled some magic in that court room

[Tuffcore]

Well then, just in case, *Ahem*...

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[MythnoonA]

I'm sorry they lost their son that way (edit: also feel sorry for the batter--can't imagine how he might feel), but why didn't they also sue the people who made the baseball? Aluminum bats have been around a long time. It could have been a regular wooden bat too. They can all be dangerous. Players, umpires, and people in the stands have been hit and killed. Baseball has always been dangerous in some ways.

[mystified]

An absolutely absurd ruling. They should ban the use of aluminum bats altogether. I still don't get how the family won the lawsuit since the bat didn't physically come in contact with the guy in order to kill him. Accidents happen sheesh... everything's going to need a warning label sooner or later...

Please note that all my posts may contain failed comedies, poor satires, and/or marginal intelligence and excessive exposure to these materials may cause severe injury or even death. Do not let children under 3 feet tall come within legibility of the letters contained within my posts without sufficient linguistical education or the harness of proper safety equipment. In the event of taking my posts seriously, please flush eyes with water for 15-minutes. Consult a physician immediately if content persists.

Reader discretion is advised.

^ xDDD rofl

[justwildbeat]

Well if the mother really wanted to protect her child from ALL dangers of the outside world that don't contain disclaimers or warnings...then just stick your kid in a plastic bubble and never let him outside.

[rachilde]

The baseball company is definitely going to appeal and it appears that the company would win the appeal so long as they do not have an incompetent lawyer. In fact, from what little we know about the case, it sounds like the baseball company hired a severely incompetent lawyer. This is a case that should have ended with a directed verdict and should have never been taken to a jury because, unless the plaintiff has something we don't know about, the plaintiff has no case whatsoever. Furthermore, any schmuck will tell you that if you put a sobbing mother to the witness box, the jury will more likely than not find for her even if there is no reason to find for her. The baseball company's lawyer screwed it up big time.

From what I think happened:

1) parents sued baseball bat company
2) baseball bat company decided that there was definitely no case against them and refused to settle out
3) parents take it to court
4) baseball company was ill-prepared for court
5) parents win

If the baseball bat company had settled out before the trial or if they'd put more work into it then none of this would have happened. Obviously, someone is going to get fired from his firm today.

[Trungy]

I actually believe the parents have a case.. which goes to show how badly the holes in the legal system are. Even after an appeal, I think there is a good chance there won't be a reversal. I mean, I really dislike the verdict, but I understand it (a little). On what grounds are there to reverse the decision?

My only thought is.. the pitcher wasn't using the bat, so why would it matter if the aluminum bat has a warning?

[[K]Jae]

This is straight up retarded. Maybe they should start using Styrofoam bats and baseballs from now on! Utterly stupid seriously. This is no case at all. Kid accidentally lets go of bat and kills pitcher. Sue the batter not the company. They just wanted money like every idiot that goes to court with a ridiculous claim. Hurray our society is heading downhill because of these fools.

[i_4got]

This is straight up retarded. Maybe they should start using Styrofoam bats and baseballs from now on! Utterly stupid seriously. This is no case at all. Kid accidentally lets go of bat and kills pitcher. Sue the batter not the company. They just wanted money like every idiot that goes to court with a ridiculous claim. Hurray our society is heading downhill because of these fools.

No, the batter hit the ball, and the ball flew straight back into the pitcher's face and killed him. Which makes this case even more retarded because it wasn't even the bat that killed the kid.

[[K]Jae]

No, the batter hit the ball, and the ball flew straight back into the pitcher's face and killed him. Which makes this case even more retarded because it wasn't even the bat that killed the kid.

Oh sorry lol I guess i misread that part. It's baseball, its bound to happen but its super unlikely. One reason why i don't play baseball anymore. I got hit in the hand one time when I was a pitcher and boy did it hurt, all bruised up but nothing broken. I was lucky i moved out of the way or it would have gotten my arm instead. Shouldn't always expect a ball wont be coming at you especially since your right in front of the batter.Hell this shouldn't even be a lawsuit as it was the ball and accidental which should solely be against the kid who hit it.

[foxytoe]

The baseball company is definitely going to appeal and it appears that the company would win the appeal so long as they do not have an incompetent lawyer. In fact, from what little we know about the case, it sounds like the baseball company hired a severely incompetent lawyer. This is a case that should have ended with a directed verdict and should have never been taken to a jury because, unless the plaintiff has something we don't know about, the plaintiff has no case whatsoever. Furthermore, any schmuck will tell you that if you put a sobbing mother to the witness box, the jury will more likely than not find for her even if there is no reason to find for her. The baseball company's lawyer screwed it up big time.

From what I think happened:

1) parents sued baseball bat company
2) baseball bat company decided that there was definitely no case against them and refused to settle out
3) parents take it to court
4) baseball company was ill-prepared for court
5) parents win

If the baseball bat company had settled out before the trial or if they'd put more work into it then none of this would have happened. Obviously, someone is going to get fired from his firm today.

Go for it Rach, it'll be a field practice for you

[STAR_x.]

wow stupid as crap cause the bat wasn't even the cause. sounds like the parents are just trying to make $$ out of their son's death.

[xxmeow]

why dont they go sue the company that made the baseball instead of the bat?
i mean, it was the ball that killed the kid, not the bat. --
wait, why'd the even sue the company and not the kid who batted the ball?
why? cause big firms make big money.

[Flicksityy]

In 2003, 18-year-old Brandon Patch died after being hit in the head by a ball he threw to a batter. That batter was using an aluminum Louisville Slugger.

Why not sue the ball? It's what hit him.

And why not sue the son? He's the one who threw it.

[rachilde]

Why not sue the ball? It's what hit him.

And why not sue the son? He's the one who threw it.

I think the reason might be because a ball is not an inherently dangerous object and because the son has absolutely no money so they wouldn't recover anything. Bats, however, are inherently dangerous objects.

[pepsi_twist9]

Shouldn't it also be the ball manufacture's fault too then? I mean the boy that died didn't actually come into contact with the bat, he was hit by the ball...

To the person above: a ball can be dangerous, especially a baseball. If I were to throw a baseball at some guy's head without a bat I could still cause a major concussion.

Also, the boy could be sued because he didn't come with a warning either: nobody told the parents the boy couldn't swing well.

[ichigo_no_powder]

wow...i feel sorry for the boy's family but this is going too far. the company can't possibly include EVERYTHING in the warning label... if someone tries to melt the bat down, drinks the metal and then dies, are they going to sue too?

[vulgar812]

I hate people who sue over dumb sht. They're too lazy and stupid to make their own money - so they just figured they'll practically take money from other people.

I believe all warning labels should be removed. I support natural selection. If you're too stupid for common sense, you should be removed from the gene pool.