For years, one of the many appeals of going to a Major League Baseball game has been the chance to make a catch of your own. All it takes is the right moment and a little bit of luck, and you could catch that ball right out of the air. However, for one 28-year-old woman, the dream of catching the ball wasn’t one she shared. So, when Laiah Zuniga was hit by a ball at Wrigley Field almost two years ago, the damage was significant.

Zuniga was six rows up from the field when a foul ball was hit, striking her in the face when she was chatting with a friend. This took place on the fifth inning of a match between the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs. The individual suffered permanent damage to her eyesight, as well as damage to her sense of smell, taste, and also the condition of her teeth and nose. The injury also resulted in what is known as a spider fracture which extends down the face of Zuniga.

Speaking about the incident, Zuniga said: “My friend and I were sitting along the third baseline, eating food, when a foul ball hit me in the face in the fifth inning. The ball knocked me unconscious.  And when I awoke, my beef sandwich was the only thing I had to catch the waterfall of blood running down my face.”

The force of the hit was such that her teeth were actively detached from the nerves, meaning that she lost several teeth even after undergoing significant dental work. Representing Zuniga is Clifford Law Offices, who said in the claim: “Major League Baseball and the Cubs were aware that severe injuries from foul balls could happen to its fans sitting in rows near the field because it had happened many times before,” her attorney, Trace Brammeier, said.

“Just late last year the MLB announced that all 30 teams would extend netting from foul pole to foul pole this year, but it’s too late for Laiah.”

The filing claims that more than 1,700 fans have been victim to baseballs entering the stands at high speeds. However, Zuniga made clear that despite the intensity of the situation and the horrible circumstances that it had not dulled her support of the club, saying: “I’ll always be a Cubs fan.”

More to come as the case unfolds.

Citation

https://wbbm780.radio.com/articles/woman-sues-mlb-chicago-cubs-over-foul-ball-injury

When you go to work, the last thing that you expect to deal with is some kind of personal injury. For Eddie E. Curl, an Iowa railway worker, though, this was not an issue he could avoid. The Quad Cities resident was injured during a train derailment in 2015 and has since been awarded a total of $1.29m.

He took his previous employer, Burlington North Santa Fe, LLC, to court in 2017. He carried out the suit in Polk County. He worked as a maintenance member of their team and was carrying out work on a belt train car in Melrose, Iowa, when the derailment took place. Moving at around 10mph or less, Curl leapt some 10ft backward to try and escape the car. He managed to hurt his ankle, spine, and back, according to the lead counsel on the case, Benjamin Tobin.

Thanks to legal team Tobin and Patrick Sullivan, the suit was finally finished, and the payment was made to Mr. Curl. Tobin claimed the BNSF knew the area was not suitable for work due to the washed-out tracks where the derailment has taken place. This was likely caused by recent flooding which had taken place in the area. After the case closed, Tobin said: “The railroad knew about the washed-out tracks in the area and that’s ultimately why the (derailment) happened,”

BNSF’s Midwest operations spokesman said that railroad firm is exploring options of appeal and does not intend to comment any further at the moment. The jury, made up of eight people, provided Curl with a $500,000 payout for future pain and suffering, $300,000 for future medical care, $390,000 for future and past loss of income, and $100,000 for past and future loss of household services.

The BNSF team admitted fault eventually and offered around $12,000 in payout fees. However, Tobin said: “They said that the ankle injury was only related to the ankle sprain and that the tarsal tunnel and complex regional pain syndrome (in his ankle) was not related,”

After going back to work post-injury, Curl found that he was unable to get over the continual pain caused by the incident and was now at the point where he was unable to keep working. He stopped working in the industry in 2016, and has not been able to return to his job since. With permanent injections placed in his spine to try and minimize the pain, the hope is that Curl – who has undergone numerous surgical treatments – might finally find some relief from the pain and suffering caused due to the incident.

Citation

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2020/03/13/bnsf-railroad-worker-injured-job-awarded-1-million-lawsuit/5010874002/

When a child is harmed in a horrific accident, there’s always pressure to find a solution to help ease the suffering of the child and their family. When an Altadena, California toddler, then 2-year-old Adelaide Palmstrom, was struck with a falling tree branch in 2017, the reaction was the same. The child was at the Pasadena Day Center in 207 when the incident took place. With the case now finally concluded, the family will receive a $7m lawsuit settlement.

The parents first filed the lawsuit in a California state court in 2018, suing the city of Pasadena as well as the day care center. They also sued a local arborist as well as the Pasadena Unified School District. The property for the care center was leased from the PUSD, with the city controlling “a portion of the location involving the tree”.

Palmstrom was hit in the head by the falling tree branch, and suffered a fractured skull, neck, and the legs. The children were playing on their lunch break when the incident took place. Two other children, aged 3 and 4, were also hurt with minor injuries and their respective families joined in with the lawsuit. With this two-year lawsuit now finally coming to an end, though, it’s been noted that “multiple notices” were made regarding the condition of the tree.

With $7.3m in settlements paid out to the three families, the majority will go to the Palmstrom family. They will receive $2.4m from the city of Pasadena alone, with the other two families receiving a split of $100,000. The school district tree trimming contractor, Merchant’s Landscape Services, will pay around $2.48m, with $20,000 awarded to the other families affected. The Linda Vista Children Center will pay around $1.97m in compensation, with $30,000 to the other families.

The last party to settle, Pasadena Unified, paid out around $300,000, though there is no public information on the disbursements exactly. The award will be doled out to the child as she ages, with the aim to help cover the cost of medical bills and provide compensation and the loss of future earnings.

With a seven-week halo and leg cast experience, Adelaide also had to undergo plastic surgery for some of the scarring. She’s also believed to have had a traumatic brain injury from the incident.

By settling the lawsuit, though, no parties admitted liability.

Citation

https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2020/01/20/families-of-toddlers-struck-by-pasadena-tree-branch-settle-lawsuit-for-7-3-million/