Lawsuit Filed Against Umpire

[MrUmpire]

Originally Posted by mdc18

I have been a long time reader of this forum and am now soliticing some advice. Two of our Umpires are being sued by a player from an Adult League Team for an incident that occured in May 2009.

The player caught his foot in the fence while chasing a foul ball and broke his leg pretty bad. The player is claiming that he stepped in a hole and is suing the Umpires, the Umpire Association, the Park, the County and the Baseball League.

There were 2 games played that day and officitated by 4 different Umpires. The Umpires inspected the field and never noticed any holes.

Our association has been delaing with this lawsuit for months and the 2 Umpires were just added to the lawsuit. One of the Umpires no longer performs Umpiring duties and has not carried liability insurance since 2010.

Just wondering if anybody has been through something like this and looking for any advice I can pass on to the Umpires. Thanks in advance.

If you're serious, I'd suggest an attorney would be a better source of assistance than an umpire forum.

[MikeStrybel]

What level of baseball was this contest? The league may have indemnifiers in place. If they employ the umpires directly, rather than as independent contractors, the league may be culpable. Are your umpires required to inspect field conditions prior to contest start? Were any unsafe conditions reported to them or the site manager prior? Those two answers will carry weight in any settlement. Does your rule book carry a provision that mandates field inspection before all games? Mine doesn't. If this was a game played after several others and no one reported unsafe playing conditions, it looks like your guys will jump through some hoops but wind up being dropped from the case ultimately. It's easy to sue, but much harder to collect damages due to negligence. This topic has come up from time to time here and I cannot recall an umpire being found guilty of negligence for actions like yours are accused of doing.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by MrUmpire

If you're serious, I'd suggest an attorney would be a better source of assistance than an umpire forum.

Absolutely. A good attorney will be able to nip this in the bud for the umpires. If they have liability insurance, they should start with a call to the insurer, who is responsible for defending them against such suits.

[MD Longhorn]

The case may have merit against the field owners themselves. What ruleset were you using ... some organizations pay for lawsuit insurance for just this kind of nonsense. Also - check the league bylaws. Both of the places I work have players sign waivers early on that specifically excludes umpires, field crew, managers, and players from liability.

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by mbcrowder

The case may have merit against the field owners themselves. What ruleset were you using ... some organizations pay for lawsuit insurance for just this kind of nonsense. Also - check the league bylaws. Both of the places I work have players sign waivers early on that specifically excludes umpires, field crew, managers, and players from liability.

Check with your lawyer. The waivers usually cover "normal stuff" that would happen in the course of the action. The waiver may not hold water if negligence is proven.

Also ask her if insurance policies cover events that happened while they were in force even if you no longer have the policy. It seems to me that insurers could avoid a lot of costs if they just cancelled your policy after the accident but before the suits get fioled.

[BigBlu]

If you / they are a NASO members, you are covered by insurance. You should call them right away if your a member.

[JRutledge]

You might also want to check your state association's insurance plan as well. They may have a similar plan that would cover these situations even if the game is not at the HS level. And that policy might be through the NF as well. Either way there should be some help that those groups can give for these situations.

Peace

[MikeStrybel]

I still have not heard of a baseball umpire being held accountable by a court for negligence. If there is such a case, it will make interesting winter fodder.