Coach sued for telling kid to slide into 3rd base...7 years ago

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I heard this on the radio this morning so had to look it up. It's one of the most insane things I've ever read.

 

https://www.nj.com/slide-trial/

[PlayerHader]

I just read about it this morning. How does something like this ever even get in front of a jury?

[OldSchoolSnapper]

A responsible attorney should not have taken the case. Have you consulted with attorneys? I have on a couple occasions, and one was very forthright with me about telling me I had no case. I don't know how it got past even that point.

 

"So you slid into third base at a game and got hurt, and you want to make the coach pay? Ok, let's do this."

[homer]

Content aside, that was a really well written article.

[Samurai Bucky]

A responsible attorney should not have taken the case. Have you consulted with attorneys? I have on a couple occasions, and one was very forthright with me about telling me I had no case. I don't know how it got past even that point.

 

"So you slid into third base at a game and got hurt, and you want to make the coach pay? Ok, let's do this."

We don't know how many attorneys the father contacted before Kahn, Sinnis and their firm accepted the case. Since the case was based on negligence, the question wasn't whether it was responsible to accept the case, but whether the case could be won. The firm had been involved in another high-profile case and it is reasonable to assume that they saw similarities between the two cases.

 

From a certain point of view, the plaintiff had a point -- at least one juror thought so. Thankfully, the defendant won. Otherwise, the one girl who tore her labrum diving back to second base, the boy who misjudged a fly ball and got hit in the eye, or the girl who took a line drive off the face and ended up in the ICU because she refused to wear a face mask while pitching would all be looking to sue. The first two of those were on my watch and I saw the last one.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Is it the responsibility of youth coaches to take steps to protect their players? Of course. But any time you play a sport, there should be some risk of injury that is assumed. It certainly appears that the coach was not in the wrong whatsoever. Yeah, it sucks that the kid snapped his ankle, and that he never fully recovered from the injury. But to me this screams of an over-competitive sports dad that was simply crushed because he'd no longer be able to live vicariously through his athletic son, and needed someone to blame. In my opinion, it was irresponsible of the law firm to take this case, and a travesty of the court system that the case was allowed to drag out this long.

[MrTPlush]

Can you imagine accidentally ruining someone’s life in a non reckless way and then that person coming and internationally ruining yours?

 

Sad sad world we live in.

[PlayerHader]

I thought there are mechanisms in the judicial system to keep cases like this from getting to a jury. Lawyers can take cases as from anyone who will pay them, I assume, and that is their right, I suppose. Don't cases get thrown out for having no ground to stand on? How did this even get to a court room?

 

The article didn't go into that.

[MrTPlush]

I am guessing it is directly tied to the fact he was under the age of 18 when it happened and to be fair the coach did tell him to slide...and also seems like it was a dangerous situation to slide in (sliding late at full speed is what it sounded like). I see how it has enough to get into court.

 

This is the US and people sue cause they spilled hot coffee on themselves. That is only the tip of the iceberg of ridiculous things to get to court and win.

[Baldkin]

This is the US and people sue cause they spilled hot coffee on themselves. That is only the tip of the iceberg of ridiculous things to get to court and win.

 

I'm so sick of this. That woman had every right to sue and McDonald's was guilty of negligence.

 

- Stella Liebeck was a 79-year-old woman in Albuquerque, New Mexico, whose grandson drove her to McDonald’s in 1992. She was in a parked car when the coffee spilled.

- Liebeck acknowledged that the spill was her fault. What she took issue with was that the coffee was so ridiculously hot — at up to 190 degrees Fahrenheit, near boiling point — that it caused third-degree burns on her legs and genitals, nearly killing her and requiring extensive surgery to treat.

- McDonald’s apparently knew that this was unsafe. In the decade before Liebeck’s spill, McDonald’s had received 700 reports of people burning themselves. McDonald’s admitted that its coffee was a hazard at such high temperatures. But it continued the practice, enforced by official McDonald’s policy, of heating up its coffee to near-boiling point. (McDonald’s claimed customers wanted the coffee this hot.)

- Liebeck didn’t want to go to court. She just wanted McDonald’s to pay her medical expenses, estimated at $20,000. McDonald’s only offered $800, leading her to file a lawsuit in 1994.

- After hearing the evidence, the jury concluded that McDonald’s handling of its coffee was so irresponsible that Liebeck should get much more than $20,000, suggesting she get nearly $2.9 million to send the company a message. Liebeck settled for less than $600,000. And McDonald’s began changing how it heats up its coffee.

 

 

Anyway, back on point, I know I had to get my parents to sign a liability waiver anytime I played sports as a youth. I can't believe that a school district wouldn't do the same.

[PlayerHader]

This is the US and people sue cause they spilled hot coffee on themselves. That is only the tip of the iceberg of ridiculous things to get to court and win.

 

I'm so sick of this. That woman had every right to sue and McDonald's was guilty of negligence.

 

- Stella Liebeck was a 79-year-old woman in Albuquerque, New Mexico, whose grandson drove her to McDonald’s in 1992. She was in a parked car when the coffee spilled.

- Liebeck acknowledged that the spill was her fault. What she took issue with was that the coffee was so ridiculously hot — at up to 190 degrees Fahrenheit, near boiling point — that it caused third-degree burns on her legs and genitals, nearly killing her and requiring extensive surgery to treat.

- McDonald’s apparently knew that this was unsafe. In the decade before Liebeck’s spill, McDonald’s had received 700 reports of people burning themselves. McDonald’s admitted that its coffee was a hazard at such high temperatures. But it continued the practice, enforced by official McDonald’s policy, of heating up its coffee to near-boiling point. (McDonald’s claimed customers wanted the coffee this hot.)

- Liebeck didn’t want to go to court. She just wanted McDonald’s to pay her medical expenses, estimated at $20,000. McDonald’s only offered $800, leading her to file a lawsuit in 1994.

- After hearing the evidence, the jury concluded that McDonald’s handling of its coffee was so irresponsible that Liebeck should get much more than $20,000, suggesting she get nearly $2.9 million to send the company a message. Liebeck settled for less than $600,000. And McDonald’s began changing how it heats up its coffee.

 

 

Anyway, back on point, I know I had to get my parents to sign a liability waiver anytime I played sports as a youth. I can't believe that a school district wouldn't do the same.

 

I don't believe any liability waiver would cover reckless negligence, though.

[PlayerHader]

I am guessing it is directly tied to the fact he was under the age of 18 when it happened and to be fair the coach did tell him to slide...and also seems like it was a dangerous situation to slide in (sliding late at full speed is what it sounded like). I see how it has enough to get into court.

 

This is the US and people sue cause they spilled hot coffee on themselves. That is only the tip of the iceberg of ridiculous things to get to court and win.

 

Yikes. A kid getting hurt sliding in a baseball game happens all the time. Generally it is because the kid slides too late and jams up an ankle. It is a huge leap of logic to put financial responsibility for this on a coach, though. Even if you can prove that he gave the slide sign late, it's just not something that seems reckless nor negligent. This isn't a chess match with time to think through moves.

[MrTPlush]

I am guessing it is directly tied to the fact he was under the age of 18 when it happened and to be fair the coach did tell him to slide...and also seems like it was a dangerous situation to slide in (sliding late at full speed is what it sounded like). I see how it has enough to get into court.

 

This is the US and people sue cause they spilled hot coffee on themselves. That is only the tip of the iceberg of ridiculous things to get to court and win.

 

Yikes. A kid getting hurt sliding in a baseball game happens all the time. Generally it is because the kid slides too late and jams up an ankle. It is a huge leap of logic to put financial responsibility for this on a coach, though. Even if you can prove that he gave the slide sign late, it's just not something that seems reckless nor negligent. This isn't a chess match with time to think through moves.

 

I know...just saying you could make enough of something to get a hearing out of it. Chances to win are essentially zero, but the court system is intended to give you your voice in court as long as it is at least somewhat relevant.

[RollieTime]

Sad that the coach has to continue to live through this. It’s unfortunate for the kid, but that’s the risk you take playing any sport. Fluke injuries happen, but blaming a slide on a coach when the kid could of made his own decision to slide a couple feet earlier could of prevented this from happening. Whether it was 6 feet or 8 feet, it shouldn’t matter. Maybe the kid was told to slide at 15 feet, but it took him a couple steps to process what was said and then slid late? Who knows. If a coach is yelling to plow over the catcher and he gets hurt, sure. I could see a case for that. But sliding into a base?

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Only time I see anything like this going anywhere is if the kid was gimpy already or something and told the coach beforehand "I can play, but I'm not sliding." There would likely still be a question about his choice to play and assuming the risk, but I could see the thing getting to see the light of day in that situation.

[pacopete4]

This is just flat out stupid. Can’t believe I just read that.

[Patrick425]

A responsible attorney should not have taken the case. Have you consulted with attorneys? I have on a couple occasions, and one was very forthright with me about telling me I had no case. I don't know how it got past even that point.

 

"So you slid into third base at a game and got hurt, and you want to make the coach pay? Ok, let's do this."

 

I'm guessing this was his attorney:

 

[KeithStone53151]

I'm surprised the judge didn't immediately throw this out. Or that any lawyer would take the case. I'm pretty sure lawyers only get paid if they win, so they risk wasting their time on a very high likelihood of getting nothing.

[PlayerHader]

I'm surprised the judge didn't immediately throw this out. Or that any lawyer would take the case. I'm pretty sure lawyers only get paid if they win, so they risk wasting their time on a very high likelihood of getting nothing.

 

I don't think that is the case with most legal cases. It may be the contracted deal in some cases, but most lawyers are charging billable hours, I believe.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

"No fee unless we win" is just a marketing ploy used by guys like Gruber because they settle 99.9% of cases out of court. They take the case knowing an insurance company will settle and ta-da, you "won."

[Samurai Bucky]

The coach might have a case for Defamation. I have a feeling he wants to get this behind him. Both parties have been through enough.