Baseball Fans File Class Action Lawsuit Over MLB Foul Ball Dangers

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Last week, three baseball fans filed an amended class action lawsuit against the Major League Baseball commissioner and all 30 MLB teams, alleging that the league fails to protect vulnerable spectators from wayward bats and balls at major and minor league ballparks.

Plaintiffs Gail Payne, Robert Gorman and Stephanie Smith filed the MLB class action lawsuit, seeking to make the ballparks safer for the tens of millions of baseball fans who attend Major League Baseball games.

“Fans flock to ballparks and pay an average of $27.00 to $83.00 per ticket to watch pitchers throw a ball at or over 100 miles an hour and hear the crack of the bat when a batter swings for the fences,” the MLB class action lawsuit says.

“The lack of safety netting at major league ballparks is a problem creating over a thousand preventable injuries per season,” the MLB class action lawsuit continues. “Every year, a growing number of fans, of all ages but often children, suffer often horrific and preventable injuries, such as blindness, skull fractures, severe concussions, and brain hemorrhages, when they are struck by a screaming foul ball or flying shrapnel from a shattered bat while sitting in an unprotected area.”

According to the MLB class action lawsuit, approximately 1,750 spectators are injured by errant baseballs each year. The 124-page amended complaint goes into detail about nearly 90 serious injuries that have affected spectators since the original class action lawsuit was filed on July 13, 2015.

“Defendants have failed to follow the path of other professional sports in the United States and other countries that have taken simple, readily-available and relatively inexpensive steps to protect its spectators,” the MLB class action lawsuit says. “This is particularly alarming, as the technology to protect spectators has been around since before the turn of the century, and there are already rules requiring its implementation during batting practice (for spectator safety), as well as during official play (to help umpires more accurately judge fair and foul balls).”

Further, the MLB class action lawsuit alleges that the league has purposefully increased the number of distractions at ball games to keep the crowd entertained and to appeal to younger spectators. For example, the MLB has released a mobile application called “MLB At-Bat,” which is allegedly marketed for use while watching the game live at a ballpark. While this application may keep fans engaged, it also increases the likelihood that a spectator will be unaware of their surroundings, increasing the risk of being struck by an errant bat or ball.

By filing the MLB spectator safety class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs seek to represent a Class of people who “purchased a ticket to a Major League Baseball game and whose seat(s) are located in any unnetted/uncovered area between home plate and the foul poles located at the end of the right and left field lines (‘the Danger Zone’).”

The MLB class action lawsuit asserts claims for negligence, fraudulent concealment, violations of the California Unfair Competition Law, Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and other California laws. Smith also brings a personal injury claim for the injuries she suffered at Dodgers stadium on June 7, 2015.

The plaintiffs are represented by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Hilliard Muñoz Gonzales LLP.

The MLB Spectator Safety Class Action Lawsuit is Gayle Payne, et al. v. Office of the Commissioner of Baseball (d/b/a Major League Baseball), et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-03229-SC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division.