Major League Baseball

Milwaukee Brewers: Another Foul Ball Lawsuit for MLB

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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In a Milwaukee Brewers game back in 2014, a woman named Dana Morelli was struck by a foul ball under her eye. She has now decided to file a lawsuit against the Brewers for her injuries.

Her foul ball lawsuit claim is that the Milwaukee Brewers did not do enough to protect fans from being injured. This claim is very similar to past cases against baseball organizations such as the Pittsburgh case and the Boston case.

Foul balls being hit into the stands isn’t new. But the rate of injuries seemed to have increased in recent years. In the past couple of weeks, there have been two fans injured at Philadelphia games due to foul balls and one in Milwaukee.

Ms. Morelli’s claim isn’t a bad one, but it also isn’t new. A disclaimer is printed on each MLB ticket that limits the legal liability of the home team for this reason. If a fan is hit by a foul ball, a bat, a piece of a bat, or any other reasonable equipment that goes into the stands, the fan likely cannot recover for any injuries. But, they can always try.

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This rule coined the “baseball rule,” has been upheld in multiple instances in court. In 2013, the Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld the rule with regard to a fan being injured because teams have taken reasonable precautions to screen the most dangerous areas. But maybe the dangerous areas have expanded and teams should recognize that.

In December 2015, the MLB recommended that all organizations extend the netting in order to further protect fans. The recommendation wasn’t mandatory and every team didn’t listen.

Many fans are concerned that lawsuits such as Morelli’s risk the “fan experience.” Will fans really want to buy a $100 ticket to be screened by reinforced netting the whole time? That may be the cost of fan safety as we are in an era of dangerous foul balls.

No matter the outcome of Ms. Morelli’s lawsuit, her incident is consistent with a growing number of fans. And these suits don’t seem to be disappearing despite their lack of success thus far. It surely will be another topic of discussion this offseason for the league and organizations.

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