The jury didn't say there was no fault with the product.
What an idiotic decision. I doubt it will be upheld on appeal.
I feel bad for the kid, of course. But as a former pitcher, I can say that I knew very well by the age of 18 the dangers of being hit by a batted ball -- regardless of what the bat was made of. That's the nature of the game, and it's one reason why baseball, statistically speaking, is among the more dangerous sports. (I wonder if the batter was also sued for hitting the ball too hard.)
On a related note, I bought Halloween costumes for four kids this past week (my two goddaughters and their younger siblings). I was both amused and saddened by the warning labels on the costumes and other paraphernalia, including:
-Rich
- A warning on a witch's hat and broom combo warning that they didn't enable the user to fly.
- A warning on some grease face make-up that it shouldn't be applied to more than five percent of the body, nor should it be ignited before being applied.
- A warning on a pair of vampire fangs that "these fangs are not denture devices and must be removed from the mouth before eating."
- A warning on a rubber severed limb that it was for "novelty use" and "should not be used for medical purposes."
"The company said it's not sure what it means beyond that because the jury also decided there was nothing wrong with the product."
I think David is rightly, considering his training, arguing from the standpoint of the legal perspective (which is indeed the jury's duty) but we are looking at it from a non-legal, lay person's and I might add, a common sense standpoint.
Of course, agreed on all counts. But truly, is there anyone who plays baseball who isn't aware that the purpose of a baseball bat is to enable the batter to propel a dense, hard, spherical object at high velocity? So what's the warning supposed to say: "Warning: This product accomplishes its intended use very well?"
I dunno. Seems silly to me.
-Rich
The issue here is the law and jurisprudence, not common sense.
I think David is rightly, considering his training, arguing from the standpoint of the legal perspective (which is indeed the jury's duty) but we are looking at it from a non-legal, lay person's and I might add, a common sense standpoint.
Anyway, I never really liked aluminum baseball bats. I didn't like the sound they made, they didn't seem as "pure,"
ahh but the wooden ones can split, sending a oak spear into the outfield!
incidentally I prefer the wooden ones too.
All true.The jury didn't say there was no fault with the product. The jury specifically found that there were not adequate warnings given.
You can certainly criticize that finding (and I would agree, but I also didn't hear the evidence presented at trial), but it's not accurate to say that there were no findings of "fault" or the like.
I think the answer is yes. It was both.When I see cases like this I have to wonder if it was the family's idea to sue or the lawyer's.
When I see cases like this I have to wonder if it was the family's idea to sue or the lawyer's.
The issue here is the law and jurisprudence, not common sense.
When I see cases like this I have to wonder if it was the family's idea to sue or the lawyer's.
This verdict is simply a product of the continued decline
This verdict is simply a product of the continued decline and fall of our society, country, government, and legal system... Our people demand (and the courts deliver) cradle to grave hand holding... No one is responsible for their decisions or actions - it is the bats' fault!
While we can discuss it here and ridicule this jury (rightfully) and scorn this judge for accepting this verdict (more than rightfully) this trial and this verdict is corrosive, it eats at the fabric of society...
This judgment, whether it stands on appeal or nor, raises the cost of making bats... That cost will be tacked onto the price of the bats (not just metal, all bats)... Some schools will drop baseball from their sports... Some little leagues will end up priced out of the game because parents cannot afford the now higher priced bats, helmets, batting gloves, spiked shoes, etc. and the higher insurance premiums.. Some of these young folks who would have been absorbed in sports while they get through the dangerous years of development will be at loose ends on the streets in the summer... A small percentage of those kids who would have been playing ball will wind up on prison or dead because they did not have that sports program to keep them focused until their brains matured...
It is not just this one verdict - it is every bad decision made by society... The jobs that our grandfathers had are gone because society is now overtly hostile to manufacturing plants, and coal mines, and steel mills... High schools no longer teach machine shop, and welding, and tinsmith so these kids, who are not university inclined, come out of school with no marketable skill and no jobs... Farms are being shut down because the yuppies who moved to the country and built big houses file lawsuits over cow herds, and tractors, and combines making noise, dust, and odor...
The waterslide park in my city shut down, not becuse of a lack of customers, - this was the premier attraction in a rust belt city in June, July, and August - but because the hundreds of thousands of dollars demanded by the liability insurance company exceed their gross receipts for the year... Why did the insurance company demand such an exorbitant premium? Because juries hand out multimillion dollar sympathy awards like popcorn...
Every decision has consequences... Shut down the mill because folks don't like the smoke stack - your grandchild grows up in a rusting mill town with no jobs and no future... Sue the bat maker, and maybe he lays off ten people to cover his costs... Rome fell, not because the barbarians raced intot he city that day, but because of generations of Roman society doing exactly what WE are doing, today...
And don't even think of getting me started on the Cory Liddle crash...
denny-o
This verdict is simply a product of the continued decline and fall of our society, country, government, and legal system... Our people demand (and the courts deliver) cradle to grave hand holding... No one is responsible for their decisions or actions - it is the bats' fault!
While we can discuss it here and ridicule this jury (rightfully) and scorn this judge for accepting this verdict (more than rightfully) this trial and this verdict is corrosive, it eats at the fabric of society...
This judgment, whether it stands on appeal or nor, raises the cost of making bats... That cost will be tacked onto the price of the bats (not just metal, all bats)... Some schools will drop baseball from their sports... Some little leagues will end up priced out of the game because parents cannot afford the now higher priced bats, helmets, batting gloves, spiked shoes, etc. and the higher insurance premiums.. Some of these young folks who would have been absorbed in sports while they get through the dangerous years of development will be at loose ends on the streets in the summer... A small percentage of those kids who would have been playing ball will wind up on prison or dead because they did not have that sports program to keep them focused until their brains matured...
It is not just this one verdict - it is every bad decision made by society... The jobs that our grandfathers had are gone because society is now overtly hostile to manufacturing plants, and coal mines, and steel mills... High schools no longer teach machine shop, and welding, and tinsmith so these kids, who are not university inclined, come out of school with no marketable skill and no jobs... Farms are being shut down because the yuppies who moved to the country and built big houses file lawsuits over cow herds, and tractors, and combines making noise, dust, and odor...
The waterslide park in my city shut down, not becuse of a lack of customers, - this was the premier attraction in a rust belt city in June, July, and August - but because the hundreds of thousands of dollars demanded by the liability insurance company exceed their gross receipts for the year... Why did the insurance company demand such an exorbitant premium? Because juries hand out multimillion dollar sympathy awards like popcorn...
Every decision has consequences... Shut down the mill because folks don't like the smoke stack - your grandchild grows up in a rusting mill town with no jobs and no future... Sue the bat maker, and maybe he lays off ten people to cover his costs... Rome fell, not because the barbarians raced intot he city that day, but because of generations of Roman society doing exactly what WE are doing, today...
And don't even think of getting me started on the Cory Liddle crash...
denny-o
Required reading for all juries.
Common sense is sadly commonly lacking these days, at least in jury pools.