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As the only attorney in our organization, I try to educate our members on the real exposure we officials face.
Primarily, it is virtually impossible to hold an official liable for an injury to a fan or participant in or at a sporting event. Most states have what in California we call the primary-assumption-of-the-risk doctrine, which is an absolute defense to an injury lawsuit. Simply stated, fans at and participants in sporting events assume the risk of injuries associated with the activity. Unless one actively increases the risk of the sporting event by activities not normally associated with the activity, one owes no duty to prevent injuries and is not liable for those injuries. This applies to vitrually every official at an amateur and professional sporting event.
One caveat that bat manufacturers should note. A recent California appellate court reversed an assumption-of-the-risk finding in a suit by a Cal. State Northridge pitcher who was struck in the head by a line drive off of a new-age Demarini bat used by a USC hitter. The bat manufacturer and the NCAA, according to the court's opinion, in concert marketed the bats that promised that the ball would leave the bat at a greater speed, making hitters better. The hired-gun "experts" testified that a pitcher would have .37 seconds to react to a line drive off of a conventional aluminum bat, while the pitcher would only have .33 seconds to react to a line drive off of the new-age bat. That, said the justices, increased the risk of harm associated with the college D-1 game, and the jury should decide the case. If the NCAA gets tagged with one of the huge verdicts that plaintiff attorneys get in downtown L.A. courtrooms (called "the bank" by the plaintiff's bar), expect college and mens' leagues to bar metal bats and require only wooden bats.
But we officials should all have insurance available from many sources. Insurance will pay for our defense if we are sued. In return, the insurer maintains the right to settle the most meritless of lawsuits. Insurers settle to save on defense expenses. This is a political problem: liberal politicians are beholden to trial attorneys who finance their reelection campaigns. In return, the trial bar gains laws making it harder to defeat meritless lawsuits at an early stage making it economically advantageous to pay settlements rather than defending them through trial. Governor Gray Davis here in the people's republic of California recently signed such a bill to make it much harder for lawsuit victims to win summary-judgment motions. The insurance industry estimates that the average cost of liability insurance will increase $80 a year to pay for the costs of our Governor's gift to the trial bar.
As baseball becomes more expensive for leagues, fields, batting cages, officials, and teams because insurance rates keep increasing, we officials will have less games to officiate. But this is a subject for a future rant.
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