Lawyers have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a Dodger fan that allegedly suffered from a broken neck while attending a game, as reported by the Beverly Hills Courier.
Judge Alan S. Rosenfield is expected to hear arguments on April 19.
Two brothers, S.S. and A.S., filed the suit in September 2009 alleging negligence, premises liability and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
The other fan, accused of falling on top of S.S. and injuring him, P.L.R, has also been named in the suit.
The accident occurred during a League Championship Series game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies on October 12, 2008.
The suit states that the two brothers sat in a field box below P.L.R. who was in the loge section, and that before P.L.R. caused the accident he “was severely inebriated and showed signs of intoxication throughout the game -- a result of a marijuana cigarette, 10 beers and six shots of tequila prior to and during the game. He repeatedly yelled, swore and taunted the Dodger fans in the loge box section throughout the game.”
The Dodger fans, for their part, reportedly taunted P.L.R. with obscenities and threw peanut shells at him.
When the game ended, P.L.R. allegedly approached the railing at the bottom of the loge level. From there, the suit states, he “stepped over the short railing, turned toward the loge box level, waved his baseball cap in the air, lost his balance and fell ... to the field box level.”
P.L.R.’s fall landed him on top of S.S.
S.S. received two broken vertebrae, his forth and sixth, while his brother suffered emotional distress from witnessing S.S’s pain.
Dodger Stadium security, as alleged by the brother’s lawyers, should have prevented P.L.R. from going over the railing, or should have ejected P.L.R. from the field long before his actions had escalated. They believe that before he fell, P.L.R. was a danger to himself, and to the other fans that were present.
There were 56,800 people at the game.
The Dodger court papers state, “Never before in the 49-year history of Dodger Stadium had anyone jumped or fallen off any of the elevated levels of seating at the facility, including the loge level where (P.L.R.) was seated. Although more than 139 million people had attended at least 4,600 events at the stadium over the many years, nothing like that every happened.”
Witnesses interviewed by team officials also agreed that P.L.R. was visibly drunk. But, the Dodger papers state, his actions were “innocent, good-natured, fun, entertaining and normal' for a playoff game at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers.”
The Dodger’s attorneys are arguing that the brother’s attorney is wrong in their suggestion that security personnel should have done more. Along with that, engineer Charles E. Turnbow has given the Dodgers a sworn declaration attesting that the rail meets all of the Los Angeles’ building code standards.
If you have been injured due to the negligence of a business, contact a personal injury lawyer for help with a lawsuit. You are due monetary compensation for your pain and suffering.