Easton Metal Bat Lawsuit

I hadn’t heard this story yet: “Boy left deaf in one ear after line drive; family sues bat maker“.

Apparently several states have banned metal baseball bats, like the one that hurt this 11 year old.

I found the complaint at 10-cv-7751.

Here are a couple of the facts (including the very specific details of the game in question):

7. At all times relevant herein, Defendant, EASTON, designed, manufactured and tested baseball bats to intentionally maximize the “exit velocity” or speed at which a baseball comes off the bat.

8. At all times relevant herein, Defendant, EASTON, marketed such baseball bats as having incredible exit velocity, including advertisements featuring professional athletes hitting baseballs through cement building walls while using Easton baseball bats.

16. At the aforesaid time and place, Plaintiff, JAKE, was pitching for the Mokena Blaze in the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs when a batter on the opposing team stepped up to the plate using an Easton BT265 bat.

Apparently they say that Easton failed to observe known safety hazards of the Easton BT265 and failed to adequately warn foreseeable uses of the bat.

Now, I’m not a lawyer, but if I were, I’d argue that this was a freak accident. It’s not like the poor batter was using a space laser bat from the year 2050. He was using a bat that the league allowed.

I feel bad for the hurt child, I do, but lawsuits like this are the reason that so many products are labeled with lawyer-speak warnings.