I feel bad for the kid, I really do, but it's not the fault of the bat manufacturer, of little league baseball (which wasn't even running the league he was playing in), and certainly not the fault of the sporting goods store that sold the bat.

Sometimes bad things just happen and it's not really anyone's fault. Misfortune doesn't give you the right to reach into someone else's pocket. I hope that none of these organizations admitted fault and are just doing this to avoid bad press. The legal precedent if they did admit fault would be horrible.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/story/_/id/8292542/stephen-domalewski-left-brain-injury-settles-metal-bat-suit

Seriously though, I'm glad that his family will now have the money to provide care for him, but what a shit lawsuit.

8/22/2012 3:31:40 PM

Well, if that's the whole story, then these are some greedy parents looking for quick cash. It's an accident of no one's fault. I can't believe there was a settlement, but I understand it because our courts are completely backwards when it comes to such lawsuits. Don't parents have to sign waivers and paperwork stating that injuries/death may occur and no one is liable? If not, it will begin.

[Edited on August 22, 2012 at 3:36 PM. Reason : .]

8/22/2012 3:35:52 PM

Its the bats fault your son didn't duck.

8/22/2012 3:37:50 PM

Parents should have thrown more wrenches at their kid.

8/22/2012 3:38:39 PM

when something unfortunate like this happens and you're faced with mountains of medical bills, it's pretty common practice to sue everyone you can and see what you can get.

not saying it's right, but that's how it works. *shrug*

8/22/2012 3:39:40 PM

No they need to make bats that do not cause line drives.

If you sign your child up for a sport (if you call hitting a brick with a stick a sport), you are responsible for any fuck ups. Only in America do you get to fuck yourself up and get paid for it.

8/22/2012 3:40:59 PM

Just commenting to say that I knew wdp would be the first reply

8/22/2012 3:48:50 PM

nutrider appears!

8/22/2012 3:57:55 PM

While it might seem ridiculous, if it gets bat manufacturers to use bats that end up causing less damage (less serious incidents every year), then it's worth it.

8/22/2012 3:59:01 PM

the lawsuit culture we have built up is actually a pretty good thing for society in the long run. it is a mechanism by which the fear of financial loss pushes every organisation to provide for the public safety. There is nothing sacred about a redneck kid sport, driving cars, getting coffee, selling junkfood...

Let them all fear financial loss and thus be foresightful about yours and my safety and satisfaction. let the days of blindly chasing after dollars are come to an end.

what I want to see next is lawsuits against utility companies for past gouging and carbon whoring. that will make them go green over fucking night.

Let is be financial suicide for an organisation of ANY kind to violate the human rights of ANYONE and ANY time, past present, future.

8/22/2012 4:01:48 PM

LOL @ millisecond between beats... @60bpm... there's a lot more than a millisecond between beats.

8/22/2012 4:01:55 PM

^^^ Yes, but they already did that back in 1994, without a lawsuit. The metal bat in question doesn't perform any better than a wooden bat.


^^ Look, I'm all about financial culpability for things that are actually their fault, but in order to have freedom and choice you also have to accept the concept of personal responsibility. You can't have choice without accepting responsibility for that choice. If you choose to eat a big mac for every meal and then have a coronary you shouldn't get to sue mcdonald's. The world has pointy edges and consequences. No amount of litigiousness will change that.

8/22/2012 4:07:24 PM

^^



[Edited on August 22, 2012 at 4:11 PM. Reason : milliseconds]

8/22/2012 4:08:40 PM

when the noise stops lol..

8/22/2012 4:11:41 PM

Quote :

"^^^ Yes, but they already did that back in 1994, without a lawsuit. The metal bat in question doesn't perform any better than a wooden bat."

Then maybe they'll think about easing up on the wooden bats and the metal bats they have left.

It does sound like a freak accident...but you also shouldn't almost die from little leaguer's line drive.

[Edited on August 22, 2012 at 4:12 PM. Reason : .]

8/22/2012 4:11:42 PM

How in the world does one sue the sporting goods store? If it is the job of a sporting goods store to only sell items that might not cause injury, they might as well close their doors and start liquidation. Same with car dealerships, gun shops, coffee shops, home improvement retailers...

8/22/2012 4:22:45 PM

Well, you shouldn't die from eating food but sometimes people choke.

8/22/2012 4:23:24 PM

^^^ What kind of logic is that? If the physical laws of the universe dictate that a ball traveling at a certain velocity can cause a fatal injury then that will be the case. No amount of saying, "it shouldn't happen" will change that. Sometimes shit happens, even extremely unlikely shit. You can't mitigate all risk.

The question is whether it is an acceptable or reasonable risk to take. Each one of these kids and their parents have determined that it is an acceptable risk. Frankly, in over a century of kids playing baseball the risk of fatal injury has been shown to be almost infinitesimally low.

The only way to prevent injuries in youth sports is to eliminate youth sports. You can make them safer, and they are constantly doing that through improved equipment like break away bases, safer batting helmets, etc. This was not a case of faulty/dangerous equipment or negligence on the part of the organization, it was just a shitty outcome from an unlikely event.

8/22/2012 4:33:08 PM

Maybe pitchers need to wear chest protectors in little league. They are standing much closer to the batter than any of the other players save the catcher, who already wears one.

8/22/2012 4:37:17 PM

Maybe. They already exist and are available for purchase.

Maybe all kids in the field should wear a protective helmet as well like John Olerud. Maybe everyone should wear a mouthpiece too. Maybe instead of a hard baseball they should use a ragball.

There's definitely stuff that could be done to make it even safer than it already is, but should it be mandated by the organization or should it be personal choice to mitigate the risk?

8/22/2012 4:41:17 PM

8/22/2012 4:41:20 PM

Apparently the lawsuit was sooooo stupid that...

the kid got a settlement.

Of $14.5M

STUPID!

8/22/2012 4:55:38 PM

Oh, it was successful, but it wasn't grounded in things like logic or based on the parties being sued actually being responsible for what happened to their kid. It was a straight cash grab which resulted in payouts based on weighing the legal costs of fighting it and bad press vs. the cost of a settlement.

8/22/2012 5:01:08 PM

Quote :

" It was a straight cash grab which resulted in payouts based on weighing the legal costs of fighting it and bad press vs. the cost of a settlement."

Yup. In my line of work it happens all the time. Plaintiff sues because of excessive force, false arrest, shooting, etc. No matter how asinine the claim maybe, its a better bet to pay out when you weigh in the cost of a trial, bad publicity and leaving it in a juries hands.

8/22/2012 5:11:31 PM

Wonder how much the baseball maker, uniform maker, batting glove maker, glove maker, cleat maker, whoever installed the dirt on the field, etc. will have to pay out. They could get half a billion when all is said and done.

8/22/2012 5:28:33 PM

Would they really have a shot at winning this trial in court?

I mean how expensive of a lawyer would a sporting goods store have to get to prove that this isn't their fault?

I mean it seems like they could save a great deal on court costs by just replacing the team of attorneys with a poster board that says "we just fucking sell sorts equipment"

8/22/2012 5:56:48 PM

You've obviously never met the type of people who sit in juries. Even if they don't believe there's actual responsibility there juries all too often award damages because they feel bad for the person suing.

A kid who got brain damage at age 12 following a tragic incident with no prospects for a normal life, career, or family of his own is a pretty sympathetic plaintiff. Then throw in his parents who have been caring for him for the past 6 years, and the always popular, "this isn't just about our son, it's about making things safer for all the kids who play this game that our son loved" line from the witness stand... yeah, I can see a jury awarding damages even though sports authority had fuck all to do with this.

8/22/2012 6:06:41 PM

First World Problems...

and what a bunch of pussies we are becoming...

8/22/2012 6:23:55 PM

belongs in the pussification of america thread

this shit is fucking pathetic

and so are fucking lawyers. they can all rot in hell.

8/22/2012 6:37:00 PM

so should the companies insurance pay for this

or does he become a burden of the state

I vote companies

8/22/2012 6:38:44 PM

He should be a burden to his parents... you know... the ones who let him participate in the sport.

8/22/2012 6:55:50 PM

I don't blame the parents for trying to grab money from this, even when (based on what's known) the bat company isn't REALLY responsible.

Why shouldn't they try to get money from whoever has deep pockets to pay for the ridiculous amount of bills this kid will surely incur?

If their options are to let their son die a slow painful death, live on welfare and government assistance for the rest of their lives, or coerce a very wealthy company who'll barely feel the judgement to help them out, they'd be idiots NOT to choose the latter option.

8/22/2012 7:10:15 PM

Quote :

"LOL @ millisecond between beats... @60bpm... there's a lot more than a millisecond between beats."

true however, there is only 1-2 milliseconds during which the ventricles are repolarizing and this can happen. If you hit someone during a certain point during their T-wave you can send you into v-fib.

milliseconds wasn't an exaggeration, or anytime you got hit in the chest hard you'd arrest. It's extremely rare, but most of all it's extraordinarily unlucky.


to be clearer.

This is not a "got hit too hard" issue, it's a "got hit at the wrong time" issue.

8/22/2012 7:17:23 PM

company spend millions to make you eat that bigmac. they use psychology and tastebuds against us for profit. modern american eating habits and the health consequences are entirely caused by maltreatment. americans used to be quite austere eaters. it has nothing to do with personal responsibility. it has to do with abusive manipulative behavior on the part of company. same old story in every industry.

8/22/2012 7:19:53 PM

Another thread i don't have to read until someone posts a picture i like

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

8/22/2012 7:20:40 PM

Quote :

"You've obviously never met the type of people who sit in juries."

I sat on a week long civil trial last year; we almost deadlocked because of one person who failed to see the facts and felt sorry for the plaintiff.

8/22/2012 7:21:24 PM

^^^ GTFO with that bullshit. It's not my fault I'm fat and has nothing do do with me sitting on my ass all day and eating 5 big macs a day. It's not my fault I'm an irresponsible parent that didn't teach my kid that running onto a highway was dangerous. It's not my fault that Becky texted me while I was driving and I couldn't wait 5 minutes to respond instead of killing that family of five when I crossed the median. It's personal fucking responsibility.

It sucks for this kid but the company is NOT responsible and should not be forced to pay for an accident. Supporting a penalty against the company is stupid and just leads us further away from personal responsibility. Don't want your kid to ever get hurt? Put them in a bubble in a padded room and never let them leave. The real world has accidents and it's not always someone's fault.

8/22/2012 8:05:20 PM

^you took something jcgolden said seriously

lol

8/22/2012 8:17:16 PM

Quote :

"Why shouldn't they try to get money from whoever has deep pockets to pay for the ridiculous amount of bills this kid will surely incur? If their options are to let their son die a slow painful death, live on welfare and government assistance for the rest of their lives, or coerce a very wealthy company who'll barely feel the judgement to help them out, they'd be idiots NOT to choose the latter option."

This is why you are a liberal and an asshole. you don't take any responsibility for your own choices and will just go out and try and make someone else pay for your decisions.

8/22/2012 10:35:45 PM

moron I know you don't understand this, but large corporations don't just suck up a multimillion dollar payout, shrug their shoulders and go oh well. They either take a hit to their stock prices which impacts share holders, or they pass that cost onto consumers by charging more for their product or service. TANSTAAFL.

8/22/2012 11:07:16 PM

nuh uh... their money is infinite, cause they are EVIL!!!!

8/22/2012 11:09:00 PM

^^ lol, so according to you, it hurts 1) shareholders 2) consumers

no where is the company hurt in your explanation.

^ you hate children.

8/22/2012 11:21:58 PM

^ try running a company sometime and see how much having to absorb and pass increased costs along to customers (or should I say POTENTIAL customers?) does NOT hurt the company. After all, everyone would continue to buy at the same level as before the price increase, right?

8/22/2012 11:30:20 PM

Quote :

"Why shouldn't they try to get money from whoever has deep pockets to pay for the ridiculous amount of bills this kid will surely incur? "

What the fuck is wrong with you?


If they want to dig in someone's pockets, then take the fight to their health insurance company.

If they don't have that, well, life's hard. It's harder when you're stupid.

[Edited on August 22, 2012 at 11:35 PM. Reason : goddamn, i can't believe the amount of defense here for the indefensible]

8/22/2012 11:34:27 PM

^^

So you're a parent, your kid is sick, your concern isn't going to be for your sick child, it should be for the mulitmillion dollar corporation?

^ for all we know, it's the health insurance company funding this fight.

If health insurance companies had their way, the only sports kids would play is on the Wii.

[Edited on August 22, 2012 at 11:49 PM. Reason : ]

8/22/2012 11:48:45 PM

then that would be fucked up, too, hence why I said the insurance company is where the fight rightly lies.

...but that's not what you were arguing before that I took issue with.

8/22/2012 11:51:45 PM

Quote :

"So you're a parent, your kid is sick, your concern isn't going to be for your sick child, it should be for the mulitmillion dollar corporation?"

So the ends justify the means. being a greedy mother fucker is A-OK as long as you can claim it's on account of your sick and injured child, who, by the way, was injured in an activity you in which you approved his participation. "concern" my ass

8/22/2012 11:55:04 PM

^ so wanting to have lots of money is wrong in your eyes. Gotcha.

^^ the point is that most people in this situation, if they knew they could win and had the resources to fund the lawsuit, would do what's best for their child. It's their "rational self interest" to do so.

8/23/2012 12:04:25 AM

^ is a moron

Quote :

"This is not a "got hit too hard" issue, it's a "got hit at the wrong time" issue."

if this is true then i think the defense had a shot at winning.

Also, they should sue the kid for throwing a bad pitch or the umpire for that one missed call that caused that inning to go a little longer. the possibilities are endless. a dolla makes me holla honey boo boo

as the bull crap lawsuits go on the increase in insurance premiums go up for the business owner like me. but who cares right???

8/23/2012 12:30:04 AM

Quote :

"So you're a parent, your kid is sick, your concern isn't going to be for your sick child, it should be for the mulitmillion dollar corporation?"

So if I'm a parent with a sick kid, nothing else matters? Hell, why not go rob a bank? How about if I lose my job? Then it's ok to rob some folks on the street too, right? I mean, hell, they've got more money than me and it's really for a good cause... Congrats on having the most appropriate tww username.

8/23/2012 12:44:41 AM