He is claiming the stadium was negligent in not covering a metal electrical box along the right field stands. On the night of his major league debut, his knee collided with the box while chasing a foul ball and required emergency surgery. The suit alleges the stadium officials knew of the dangers of the box being placed at knee level and did not pad it. At the time, he was considered the #10 prospect in baseball. The suit claims he will have permanent injuries.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/ballplayer-sues-white-sox-over-injury-at-guaranteed-rate-field/

I don't recall another instance where a player has sued a team or a stadium due to injures sustained during the normal course of play.

You can see the metal box in the lower right corner of the picture:

He'll receive a nice insurance settlement.

Hmm. I'll have to crack open the old tort textbook. But this will settle and they'll have that and everything in the stadium covered with 12 inch padding by yesterday.

So are we going to pad the green monster in Boston, and the walls behind the ivy in Wrigley, and the various parks where there is brick back behind home plate?

And goodness knows how much exposed stuff there is at the various high school and college stadiums all over the country.

similar situation to that UH WR a few years ago that broke his leg running into a metal cart that had been pushed near the back on the endzone. Don't recall how that turned out

Ags #1 said:

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You are comparing a edged metal box that players don't know are there to a giant green wall they do know is there?

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You are wanting every single thing along the foul lines padded? It's on the player to know that he is in foul territory and approaching the wall, not everything is going to be padded. But yeah, after this they may put something on that box, but the situation just reeks of somebody looking to get paid.

I don't think it's clear that it's on the player to know he's approaching a small metal box.

Walls and fences are one thing. They're part of every ballpark, they're part of the game. Little metal boxes are another matter.

I'm not saying Fowler should necessarily win if this goes to court, but comparing that box to the Green Monster or the wall at Wrigley, I don't think that's particularly persuasive.

And that runs both ways. I don't think this guy winning would make teams liable because someone runs into a wall.

This will probably settle out of court and everyone will kind of go on there way.

OSHA standards have priority on this incident. Ball players and stadium employees should have a work environment free of any recognized hazards. The box was a hazard and should have been protected. I would also like to see umpires & catchers wear HEPA filters when the home plate is dusted off. And while we're at it, no more Astros Dugout girls or mascots dancing atop the dugout without fall protection. They could fall more than 4 ft. The dugouts should be considered a confined space and tested before the players are allowed to enter. Someone should be designated and trained to be a Competent Person. In addition, with all the tobacco spit, water cups and sunflower seeds on the dugout floor, signs should be posted as a slip, trip & fall area.

KT 90 said:

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So are we going to pad the green monster in Boston, and the walls behind the ivy in Wrigley, and the various parks where there is brick back behind home plate?

And goodness knows how much exposed stuff there is at the various high school and college stadiums all over the country.

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I get what you're saying and agree on a basic level, but your major league examples are strawman. All three of those are huge, very known obstacles. Your point about college and highschool is also strawman, 99% of those kids aren't staring down a multi-million dollar deal like Fowler was.

I really don't like the overly tort nature of our society, but I also feel for Fowler in this instance. If that box wasn't there or was padded, he probably wouldn'tve blown out his knee. It's also probably not completely on the White Sox, but I can't blame the guy for trying to recoup some of what he lost due to this freak accident.

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It's on the player to know that he is in foul territory and approaching the wall, not everything is going to be padded. But yeah, after this they may put something on that box, but the situation just reeks of somebody looking to get paid.

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The other side is that MLB itself markets crazy foul ball catches to garner interest in its product. Therefore, it's tough to argue that the foul territory isn't part of the field a player should be in.

In that picture, I see 4 Yankees fans, 4 White Sox fans, an Under Armor spokesman...and what is that in the upper right corner???

So what about bullpens that are in the field of play? Mounds, chairs, benches, etc. All sorts of **** to crash into and there have been some gnarly wipeouts involving them over the years. Dont recall any lawsuits.

I would guess most of the things you have in mind are more visible than this little metal box. (And more typical of a ballpark.)

I think the key here is that he's claiming that the box is at knee level and they knew it was an immediate risk and it was never padded.

I'm still not sure if he has enough to win this suit, but it'll be interesting to follow that's for sure.

Ag_07 said:

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I think the key here is that he's claiming that the box is at knee level and they knew it was an immediate risk and it was never padded.

I'm still not sure if he has enough to win this suit, but it'll be interesting to follow that's for sure.

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I think that is what he and his lawyer are hoping for (and to get paid). DannyDunerstien's point above is correct, this is lots of stuff to crash into. I always consider it part of the risk of playing the game, just like crashing into the wall at Fenway (more specifically the uneven areas in the wall around where they change out and update the scores for the games).

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So what about bullpens that are in the field of play? Mounds, chairs, benches, etc. All sorts of **** to crash into and there have been some gnarly wipeouts involving them over the years. Dont recall any lawsuits.

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If you look at the language used by Fowler in this, that it small, "hidden and undetectable", and at a particularly dangerous height is important to their claim.

I'm sure potentially important is the atypical nature of an electrical box being in a wall like that.

I don't see how this would set precedent that the Green Monster or it's scoreboard or a pitcher's mound or bench in a "bullpen" are hazards you can sue over.

It will be very much fact based upon the reasonableness or lack thereof of covering a small electrical box with padding given its hard to see, knee level position.

Legal extortion at its finest.

Smith&Co1970 said:

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Legal extortion at its finest.

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I disagree. I despise frivolous lawsuits, but I can see how I would have done something similar. I have not read into how much Fowler stands to lose due to his injury, but I'm certain it is substantial. That metal box should have been covered. There is no valid reason why it shouldn't be covered. It is at knee level where the players can make a play. I highly doubt the majority of players even knew it was there. Their negligence in not covering it will cost him actual financial losses. In my mind that is grounds for a legitimate lawsuit to seek lost wages.

So here's the video:



At the very end you get a field-level view and it sure looks like both knees hit the padding. I'm sure the padding compressed and he made contact with the box, but the padded wall clearly was the main point of contact.

Yeah, looks like he hit the padding and it may have simply been running into a concrete wall (with padding) that caused the injury.

It looks like his knee buckles prior to even contacting the wall/box.

42 seconds the top of his thighs are multiple inches above the top of the padded wall (and below the railing), it's very much not clear his knee didn't smack straight into that electrical box.

In fact, if you watch the live part, his knees end up sitting on top of the wall as he falls over into the seating area.

At any rate, that's a factual matter to figure out like any tort case.

IMO, he has a case.

Inherent risks playing baseball in an MLB Stadium:

Running into a padded wall
Running into the brick behind the ivy at Wrigley
Running into a bullpen mound/chairs
Running into a short, waist high fence (think Fenway right field)
Running into a tarp

Non-inherent risks playing baseball in an MLB stadium:

Running into an unpadded, small, knee high electrical box in foul territory.


Should be fun to follow. Would love to hear Keith Swim's take