Bat Maker Found Liable For Boy's Death When Hit by a Fast-Moving Ball
According to the Helena, Montana Independent Record, the makers of the Louisville Slugger line of bats was held liable yesterday for the death of a an 18-year-old pitcher who was hit in the head by a ball that the batter had hit with an approved aluminum Louisville Slugger bat. Plaintiff's theory was that the aluminum bats were defective because they only give the pitcher an average of 400 milliseconds to respond in a defensive stance. Plaintiff also argued that the manufacturer failed to warn about this alleged hazard.
In an earlier article, the Independent Record had reported that a defense lawyer said in his opening that the ball that struck the pitcher was traveling at 99.8 miles per hour, and that nearly every home run hit with a wooden bat exceeds 100 miles per hour.
It apparently took the jury 12 hours of deliberations to conclude that the manufacturer failed to adequately warn, that the failure to warn caused the young pitcher's injury, and that the bat itself was not defectively designed.
I'll freely admit that I was not there to hear the evidence and I have not read the warning that was on the aluminum bat, but it is hard for me to fathom any warning that would have changed the conduct of the pitcher or the batter in a way to prevent this tragic injury.
The jury awarded $792,000 to the pitcher's estate, and $58,000 to the parents for their emotional distress. The judge is now considering the issue of punitive damages.
