Professional Baseball Game Spectator Injuries: 4 Factors That May Impact Your Case
Posted on: 27 April 2016
Attending a professional baseball game is often a memorable experience. That experience can be hindered if you find yourself injured at a game. If you were injured, a lawyer can help represent your case and try to reach a settlement for both physical and emotional damages. As the case and evidence is built, there are four factors that can impact the result. By understanding these different factors, you can work with an attorney to build the best case possible.
Flying Objects
One of the most common injuries that can occur at professional baseball game is getting hit by a foul ball or shattered bat. Even though you may be dealing with real injuries and pain, the stadium owners and players are often protected by the "baseball rule." This is a long-standing law that assumes that spectators understand the dangers of watching a baseball game in person.
Even though this rules applies in many circumstances, there are other flying object injuries that you may have a case for. For example, if a player throws a bat, helmet, or ball out of anger, that injury is unwarranted. A lawyer may seek compensation from the player, team, or stadium owners. Flying objects may also come from other players in the stands. For example, if their team is losing, a person may throw a foul ball or debris back towards the field. These items may miss the field and injure you along the way. In this case, an attorney can seek damages from the individual who threw the object.
Unkempt Stands
Traveling to your sets in a baseball stadium could include a sharp incline and some dangerous steps. Falling in these areas could result in serious injuries or harm. In some cases, the fall may be a result of dirty areas that are not properly maintained. Traditional baseball stadium foods and snacks like peanuts or hot dog buns can all create slippery situations when they are not properly cleaned. Spilled soda can even create a sticky surface that causes your injury.
If you've slipped and fallen at a baseball game, an attorney can help prove that it was caused by negligence from the stadium. Picture and video evidence can be used to showcase the condition of the area, along with any cleaning logs or past reports of problems. Additional issues like worn walkways, loose rails, or malfunctioning stadium seats may also act as evidence in your case.
National Broadcasts
A majority of professional baseball games are played on live television. Not only do these live broadcasts cover the games, but a lot of camera shots can focus in on the crowds. If your injury or the aftermath was featured on television in any way, this could be a traumatic and embarrassing event. Along with physical injuries, this type of showcase can result in emotional trauma. An attorney will often have you fill out a pain and suffering document that details the emotional impact that the broadcast has had on you. This can become a huge part of your case and really impact the compensation that you receive.
Extra Financial Impacts
Along with your physical and emotional injuries, you may have had multiple financial impacts by getting injured at a baseball game. If the injury happened early on, then you could be losing out on the ticket value alone. An attorney can calculate your ticket costs and the amount of the game that was remaining to help calculate your losses.
If you traveled in an ambulance to the hospital, then your vehicle may have been left inside of a parking garage. This can result in numerous fees and overnight charges. All of these costs will likely be added to the settlement case and proven through receipts. Other financial impacts that can add up includes wasted food or newly purchased souvenirs that were left at the stadium or ruined due to blood or damage from the injury.
Contact an attorney like Charlie Tucker P.A. soon after your injury has occurred for a consultation. Starting the case as soon as possible will help get things moving forward.
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