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Just to sum it up and save the illiterate people here some reading time, Kid gets hit with baseball, parents sue baseball bat company and win $800,000.
The jury and the parents should be hung.
Jury finds against Louisville Slugger, manufacturer comments
http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/G...asp?S=11403125
The jury and the parents should be hung.
Jury finds against Louisville Slugger, manufacturer comments
A Helena jury has reached a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the manufacturer of Louisville Slugger aluminum baseball bats.
Brandon Patch was killed in 2003 when he was struck in the head by a baseball that had been hit by a Louisville Slugger aluminum bat. Patch was pitching for the Miles City Mavericks legion baseball team at the time of the incident.
The jury in the civil lawsuit ruled in favor of the Patch family, finding that Louisville Slugger is liable for failing to warn about the dangers of using aluminum bats, and that the failure to warn played a part in the accident that caused the death of Brandon Patch.
Based on the jury's finding, the representative of the estate of Brandon Patch will receive $792,000, and an additional $58,000 will go to Brandon's parents, Debbie and Dwayne Patch.
The family says this case was about awareness, not money. After the verdict was announced, Debbie Patch said, ""We came into this not knowing. We were just hoping to prevail is all - for Brandon. This is for Brandon, and for the other kids on the field."
Patch says she's unsure what the money will be used for, but she will be looking into setting up a scholarship fund of some sort.
Brandon Patch was killed in 2003 when he was struck in the head by a baseball that had been hit by a Louisville Slugger aluminum bat. Patch was pitching for the Miles City Mavericks legion baseball team at the time of the incident.
The jury in the civil lawsuit ruled in favor of the Patch family, finding that Louisville Slugger is liable for failing to warn about the dangers of using aluminum bats, and that the failure to warn played a part in the accident that caused the death of Brandon Patch.
Based on the jury's finding, the representative of the estate of Brandon Patch will receive $792,000, and an additional $58,000 will go to Brandon's parents, Debbie and Dwayne Patch.
The family says this case was about awareness, not money. After the verdict was announced, Debbie Patch said, ""We came into this not knowing. We were just hoping to prevail is all - for Brandon. This is for Brandon, and for the other kids on the field."
Patch says she's unsure what the money will be used for, but she will be looking into setting up a scholarship fund of some sort.
HILLERICH & BRADSBY CO. STATEMENT REGARDING MONTANA
VERDICT IN ALUMINUM BAT CASE
This was an emotional case and we believe the jury responded to that and issued an emotional verdict.
Our company did nothing wrong. We made a bat in accordance with the rules. That bat was approved for play by baseball's organizing and governing organizations. In fact, the jury found in our favor, that the bat was not defective.
However, the verdict that our company "failed to adequately warn of the dangers of the bat" has left us puzzled. It seems contradictory for the jury to say the bat is not defective but our company failed to warn that it could be dangerous. It appears to be an indictment of the entire sport of baseball. Anyone who has ever played the game, or any sport for that matter, understands there are risks inherent in baseball and the object is to use a bat, whether wood or aluminum, to hit the ball hard. Unfortunately, this verdict seems to be a statement on the society we live in today, that everything must have a warning label.
We sympathize with the Patch family over their loss, as we have since we first learned of this terrible accident. But we still believe this was an accident on a baseball field. Perhaps this will give the Patch family some closure. We hope that it does.
Rick Redman
VP Corporate Communications
VERDICT IN ALUMINUM BAT CASE
This was an emotional case and we believe the jury responded to that and issued an emotional verdict.
Our company did nothing wrong. We made a bat in accordance with the rules. That bat was approved for play by baseball's organizing and governing organizations. In fact, the jury found in our favor, that the bat was not defective.
However, the verdict that our company "failed to adequately warn of the dangers of the bat" has left us puzzled. It seems contradictory for the jury to say the bat is not defective but our company failed to warn that it could be dangerous. It appears to be an indictment of the entire sport of baseball. Anyone who has ever played the game, or any sport for that matter, understands there are risks inherent in baseball and the object is to use a bat, whether wood or aluminum, to hit the ball hard. Unfortunately, this verdict seems to be a statement on the society we live in today, that everything must have a warning label.
We sympathize with the Patch family over their loss, as we have since we first learned of this terrible accident. But we still believe this was an accident on a baseball field. Perhaps this will give the Patch family some closure. We hope that it does.
Rick Redman
VP Corporate Communications
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