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Brandon Patch, 18, was pitching to a Helena Senators hitter, who was using an aluminum Louisville Slugger bat, when he was struck in the temple by the ball on July 25, 2003. Patch died at a hospital about four hours later.Debbie Patch's attorneys argue the case is not a freak accident. Baseballs hit with aluminum bats, such as the one used in that American Legion game, only give pitchers milliseconds to respond in a defensive stance. The average is about 400 milliseconds, according to attorney Joe White. Patch only had about 376 milliseconds response time.Louisville Slugger attorney Rob Sterup said the outcome could have been the same with any bat."If some other bat was used, the ball would have been hit just as hard, if not harder," Sterup said during opening statements.The ball that struck Patch was traveling at 99.8 mph, he said. Nearly every home run hit with a wooden bat exceeds 100 mph, Sterup added.According to the plaintiff's attorneys, Patch's death was caused by the defective and unreasonably dangerous product because the bat was designed and manufactured to allow the ball to be hit with such significant force as to endanger the safety of those playing the game. No warnings were given to adequately provide sufficient notice to users such as Patch of the dangerous propensities of these products, the suit alleges.The lawsuit states the plaintiff is entitled to punitive damages for the sake of example and as punishment from the makers of Louisville Slugger, Hillerich & Bradsby Co., which acted with actual malice due to their knowledge or intentional disregard of facts, creating a high probability of injury to players such as Patch. The makers of Louisville Slugger misrepresented to the end user and to the general public that the bat in question was safe for use in competitive baseball games, the suit argues.The plaintiff also is seeking actual damages in an amount to be determined during the trial.Baseball averages about six injuries to every 1,000 games and practices, Sterup said, adding this is far fewer than in other sports, such as football. People are 800 percent more likely to be injured while driving a car than playing baseball, he stated.
Jury Awards $850,000 In Louisville Slugger CaseLOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A Montana jury took a swing at the makers of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat.The panel ruled in favor of a family who sued the company for not warning users about the dangers of using aluminum bats.The verdict means Hillerich and Bradsby is on the hook for $850,000. The company said it's not sure what it means beyond that because the jury also decided there was nothing wrong with the product.Redman pointed to the fact that the jury did not find the product to be defective. He doesn't know if the company will now have to put special labels on metal bats, but he fears it could change sport as we know it.“It's really a statement on the society that we live in today that we have to have a warning label on everything and that you just wonder if we're heading down that path more and more of being a nanny state,†said Redman.
