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Boy left deaf in one ear after line drive; family sues bat maker
Chicago Sun-Times ^ | 12/8/2010 | NATASHA KORECKI

Posted on 12/08/2010 10:40:44 AM PST by toma29

It was just another Little League game.

The pitcher had just thrown two strikes. But when the next pitch was hurled, the batter smashed it and sent a line drive straight into the pitcher.

For 11-year-old Jake Schutter of Mokena, the moment forever changed his life.

Standing on the pitcher’s mound, the ball crashed into the left side of his head.

He dropped to the ground and began to vomit.

He later learned he would be permanently deaf in one ear. And his family is still unsure of the full extent of cognitive damage the incident caused, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday.

Jake’s family blames not the batter, but the bat.

It was an Easton BT265, and most signficantly, it was metal.

(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: baseball; law; lawsuits; legal
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Why not sue the baseball manufacturer? Or the sun for being out that day? Or God for letting it happen? Ridiculous.
1 posted on 12/08/2010 10:40:50 AM PST by toma29
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To: toma29

The batter hit him, not any manufacturer.

Sue the coach, the pitcher was improperly throwing...


2 posted on 12/08/2010 10:42:44 AM PST by a fool in paradise (The establishment clause isn't just against my OWN government establishing state religion in America)
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To: toma29

Why sue the manufacturer? He should have thrown low and outside after banking two strikes...;)


3 posted on 12/08/2010 10:43:45 AM PST by cardinal4 (Kagan and Sotomayor-Hope and Change)
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To: toma29

Mom and dad need to sue each other for letting their little boy play baseball.


4 posted on 12/08/2010 10:43:54 AM PST by RobinOfKingston
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To: toma29
Sue the forest. Sue the mines. Class Action.


5 posted on 12/08/2010 10:44:20 AM PST by Diogenesis ('Freedom is the light of all sentient beings.' - Optimus Prime)
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To: toma29

Much of the cost of living these days is related to the belief that there should be no randomness or consequences. We want life to be perfect.

Our great grandparents had no such expectations. They just lived life and moved on, good or bad.


6 posted on 12/08/2010 10:45:12 AM PST by lurk
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To: toma29

I guess we have to ban baseball.


7 posted on 12/08/2010 10:45:38 AM PST by GeronL (#7 top poster at CC, friend to all, nicest guy ever, +96/-14, ignored by 1 sockpuppet.. oh & BANNED)
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To: All

People using their children for monetary gain.....


8 posted on 12/08/2010 10:47:25 AM PST by Maverick68
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To: toma29
Now even the Field players will have to wear protective helmets. Its for the children's safety don't you know.

How the heck did we Sexagenarians manage to grow up without a Nanny State?

9 posted on 12/08/2010 10:47:32 AM PST by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
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To: toma29

Dangerous precedent being set here if they allow this go through. Liberals have been trying to make inanimate objects and their manufacturers liable for injuries for quite a while. Perhaps if they can accumulate some case law on it, they can attack guns from a different legal angle.

Ooh... the big metal bat went bang and made my little boy deaf. Ya know, the first thing I thought as I read this story’s headline: “Boy left deaf in one ear after...” not using ear protection at the shooting range. I mean, c’mon. There’s risk associated with EVERYTHING we do. Hell, walking is risky. I don’t blame the curb when I trip or my car tires when I miss a green light.

Sorry for your son’s hearing loss. We’ll all pray for his quick recovery. Get over yourself.


10 posted on 12/08/2010 10:48:10 AM PST by rarestia (It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)
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To: toma29

The town was IRRESPONSIBLE for setting up a baseball field there too


11 posted on 12/08/2010 10:48:37 AM PST by Mr. K ('Profiling' you would be worse than grabbing your balls!)
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To: toma29

It is tragic for the boy that got hit. I’m always a little scared that my kid will hit a pitcher.

One of the problems with this age group is that some develop faster than others, and you have a teenager hitting a child pitcher.

But I don’t know what argument they can have that the bat manufacturer was in any way responsible.


12 posted on 12/08/2010 10:49:09 AM PST by Ironfocus
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To: toma29
Assumption of Risk.

It's a SPORT. Sh*t sometimes happens.

13 posted on 12/08/2010 10:50:29 AM PST by Dead Corpse (III, Alarm and Muster)
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To: toma29

it’s the pitcher’s fault for not throwing a strike like he is suppose to


14 posted on 12/08/2010 10:51:41 AM PST by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
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To: toma29

The bat manufacturer should sue him for throwing balls at the bat... makes about as much sense.


15 posted on 12/08/2010 10:51:53 AM PST by OCC
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To: toma29
Well, not being a power hitter when I played baseball and softball, my goal was to always hit a line drive right straight back at the pitcher. Assuming that he wasn't able to field it or knock it down, it was a guaranteed single and could usually score a runner from second base.

Sorry about that pitchers, but if you want to throw a ball in my direction, don't be surprised if I hit one back in yours.

16 posted on 12/08/2010 10:52:24 AM PST by BlueLancer (I'm getting a fine tootsy-frootsying right here...)
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To: toma29

Don’t forget the company that sold the grass seed for the field, and the company that made the bleachers. Predatory lawyers like the one who filed this case disgust me. I have no problem with productive people making huge amounts of money, but the sleazy tort lawyers who file cases like this are simply parasites.


17 posted on 12/08/2010 10:53:03 AM PST by Pollster1 (Natural born citizen of the USA, with the birth certificate to prove it)
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To: SandRat

As a slo-pitch softball pitcher I am already wearing protective equipment for my head. The bats are just too advanced and juiced these days. It’s simply a common sense precaution.

That being said, I believe the family is out of line here but such is the way of things today. Sue for anything!


18 posted on 12/08/2010 10:56:00 AM PST by day10 (Integrity has no need of rules.)
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To: toma29

The parents need to be prosecuted for child neglect.....by raising their child in a plastic bubble all his life, these parents did not allow the childs self defense reflexes a chance to develope adequately for self preservation.


19 posted on 12/08/2010 10:57:10 AM PST by sniper63 (Did you plug the hole in the border yet daddy........)
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To: toma29

We need a mandatory 30 day waiting period on aluminum bats!

AND, following the model of deer hunting, players will only be allowed X number of hits with an aluminum bat and Y hits with a wooden bat.

Sorry about the kid’s hearing, I really am. The parents suing the bat maker though is freakin’ stupid.


20 posted on 12/08/2010 10:57:38 AM PST by Made In The USA (This post may be recorded for quality purposes.)
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