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Can't speak for my fellow scum-sucking bottom dwellers:
For my own opinions, here goes~
Query: Does the rule book/ umpire manual prescribe equipment inspection? If yes, remember that NOBODY can modify a safety rule on a "local" level. That includes the state HS Assn.
Recent cases on umpire liability have suggested that establishing liability cannot rest on the legal principle of res ipsa loquitur = "the thing speaks for itself". What this means is, just like suing an MD [or a lawyer], you need an "expert witness" [another umpire] familiar with the standard of care or performance applicable to your community. The explicit rules in the Book can be argued to establish a nationwide standard of care. In the absence of a nationwide standard, the local standard expected of a reasonably competent umpire will prevail. In this context, your local pregame practices MIGHT set a [helpful] standard of care.
Only problem is: nobody really cares if there is illegal junk in the dugout. The nastiness starts when the illegal and unsafe equipment finds its way onto the field of play. I seriously doubt that the State or your Assn. is condoning allowing such gear to be USED. SOOooo ...
You don't inspect, 'cause the applicable Std. of Care doesn't require it; and in the 2d inning a kid brings an illegal bat that doesn't meet BESR & other stds. into the game, hits a shot that clocks F1 between the eyes, killing him. You could have/ would have found the illegal bat and removed it from the venue, IF you had inspected, but, you didn't. You COULD have noticed the illegal bat when the batter entered the box, but, really, how closely do you look?
My guess is, you get sued. Under these facts, the case probably goes to the jury. MAYBE you have a case [called a cross claim] against the kid's rat coach for lying to you and also for allowing the bat to be used, and against the kid who used the bat. But if the jury finds against you, gonna be YOUR name on the judgment, and good luck collecting reimbursement [called "contribution"] from the kid. And, as we have discussed elsewhere, win or lose, somebody has to pay your thousands of dollars in legal fees [defense atttorneys get paid win or lose - no contingent fees for defense and insurance lawyers].
My advice ~ ALWAYS do your job for safety issues. Anybody asks you to do less, ask 'em for a written indemnity and proof of financial responsibility; and when they look at you blankly and respond "HUNUH??!?": DO YOUR JOB.
--Carter
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