Coomer The Hot Dog Douche Is At It Again!

[gblowfish]

This guy is the biggest douche in Overland Park... and that's saying something!

http://news.yahoo.com/fan-injured-ho...155248090.html

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — If it had been a foul ball or broken bat that struck John Coomer in the eye as he watched a Kansas City Royals game, it's unlikely the courts would have forced the team to pay for the surgeries and suffering he's endured.

But because it was a hot dog thrown by the team mascot — behind the back, no less — he just may have a case.

The Missouri Supreme Court is weighing whether the "baseball rule" — a legal standard that protects teams from being sued over fan injuries caused by events on the field, court or rink — should also apply to injuries caused by mascots or the other personnel that teams employ to engage fans.

Because the case could set a legal precedent, it could change how teams in other cities and sports approach interacting with fans at their games.

Coomer, of Overland Park, Kan., says he was injured at a September 2009 Royals game when the team's lion mascot, Sluggerrr, threw a 4-ounce, foil-wrapped wiener into the stands that struck his eye. He had to have two surgeries — one to repair a detached retina and the other to remove a cataract that developed and implant an artificial lens. Coomer's vision is worse now than before he was hurt and he has paid roughly $4,800 in medical costs, said his attorney, Robert Tormohlen.

Coomer, 53, declined to discuss the case. His lawsuit seeks an award of "over $20,000" from the team, but the actual amount he is seeking is likely much greater. Tormohlen declined to discuss the actual amount.

The Jackson County jurors who first heard the case two years ago sided with the Royals, saying Coomer was completely at fault for his injury because he wasn't aware of what was going on around him. An appeals court overturned that decision in January, however, ruling that while being struck by a baseball is an inherent risk fans assume at games, being hit with a hotdog isn't.

The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments last month, but didn't indicate when it might issue its ruling.

Few cases had addressed the level of legal duty, or obligation, a mascot owes to fans, so Coomer's case is being closely watched by teams throughout the country, said Tormohlen.

"If a jury finds that the activity at issue is an inherent and unavoidable risk, the Royals owe no duty to their spectators," Tormohlen said. "No case has extended the no-duty rule to the activities of a mascot."

The Royals, whose spokesman declined to comment on the case while it is pending, have argued that the hotdog toss has been a popular fan attraction at Kauffman Stadium since 2000 and is as much part of the game experience as strikeouts and home runs.

From mascot races and T-shirt cannons to free Wi-Fi and stadium sushi stands, teams have been doing everything they can to convince fans that the live experience is worth the high ticket and concession prices and is better than watching games on television.

"You have this competition with teams engaged in pushing the envelope trying to make the experience at the event better than what you can experience at home," said Jordan Kobritz, a professor in the Sports Management Department at SUNY Cortland. "You also have the fan mentality in which risk today is more tolerable than it's been in our history."

A ruling in Coomer's favor, or one that at least assigns partial blame to the mascot, could force teams to rethink their promotions, or at least take additional measures to keep spectators safe, Kobritz said.

Bob Jarvis, a sports law professor at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, said a 1997 California case set an important precedent when a state appeals court ruled that mascots are not an essential part of a baseball game. In that case, a minor league baseball team's dinosaur brushed against a fan, distracting him right before he was struck by a ball that broke several bones in his face. The court said mascot antics aren't essential or integral to the playing of a game.

Furthermore, not all courts have treated the baseball rule as sacrosanct. Earlier this year, the Idaho Supreme Court allowed a fan who lost an eye to a foul ball at a minor league baseball game to proceed with his lawsuit against the team. The court said that since baseball fan injuries are so rare in Idaho, there didn't seem to be a compelling reason for the court to step in.

In the Kansas City case, a ruling in the Royals' favor would indicate that mascots are, indeed, an essential part of the game experience, Jarvis said. If that happens, the Kansas City case would likely supplant Lowe's as the one attorneys look at when deciding whether to file a lawsuit on behalf of an injured fan.

"If you could get a court to go the other way and say in-game entertainment is a natural part of playing baseball in the U.S. in the 21st century, that would be a tremendous precedent that could cut off future lawsuits," Jarvis said.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Canofbier

I suppose that I'm in the minority for thinking that this case isn't too terrible? If he was suing for "emotional damage" or something, that would be one thing, but the dude did literally have to have surgery, and may have permanent damage to his vision. As long as he's not asking for millions, I don't judge him too harshly.

I'm with you.

The guy's eye got pretty dicked up. And he's not going after millions in non-economic damages; he's looking to get his bills paid.

Seriously, a mascot whipping a hot dog hard enough to detach a friggen retina is probably not something he ought be doing. I fail to see how flinging a hot dog hard enough to do legitimate damage, while doing so in a generally 'out of control' manner, is exercising sufficient due care.

Were the mascot throwing a baseball rather than a hot dog, would the outcry against this guy be the same? No, I highly doubt it. But the fact that 'c'mon, the guy got hit by a hot dog' gives the outraged a rallying cry makes his demands seem unreasonable.

But the end result is the same - the mascot threw a projectile with enough force (and with enough mass) and in a careless enough fashion to hit a bystander in the eye and detach his retina. That's absolutely a breach of duty by the Royals.

This seems pretty reasonable to me.

[jettio]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Yeah, exactly.

Exactly? So you went to the game with Saul Good that night and personally witnessed what happened?

Did you go out for dinner and drinks after the game?

[Red Dawg]

GET RICH OR DIE TRYING! That's what my man Fifty said!

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

When you start throwing objects at people, there should be a breach of duty. Should you evaluate the way the hot dog is wrapped? Should you throw it higher in the air? Pretty sure that throwing behind your back is just nonsense.
I get your point if you're talking about a simple slip and fall where somebody is trying to milk the system for a made up injury. This guy sounds like he has legit medical injury that he had to pay for.

What if this was a 5 year old kid with no coordination? A baseball team shouldn't do this kind of promotion if they haven't thought through the risks. They absolutely had a breach of duty the instant they approved of this promotion.

So maybe the parent shouldn't bring a 5 year old to a baseball game that doesn't have the maturity to understand what is going around them. Under this argument, children shouldn't be allowed at a baseball game at all. I can't say I disagree with that, because, they could easily get hit by a bat, foul ball, etc. So, if a child was sitting there, was hit by a foul ball, what would you think? Like others have said, when slugger is doing the promotion, it's OBVIOUS to what is going on. What do you go to baseball game for? To read your iPad, you are a spectator, you are looking at what is going on on the field and around you as it relates to the baseball game. You aren't sitting in starbucks reading a book and someone chucks a latte at your grill.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by BWillie

So maybe the parent shouldn't bring a 5 year old to a baseball game that doesn't have the maturity to understand what is going around them. Under this argument, children shouldn't be allowed at a baseball game at all. I can't say I disagree with that, because, they could easily get hit by a bat, foul ball, etc. So, if a child was sitting there, was hit by a foul ball, what would you think? Like others have said, when slugger is doing the promotion, it's OBVIOUS to what is going on. What do you go to baseball game for? To read your iPad, you are a spectator, you are looking at what is going on on the field and around you as it relates to the baseball game. You aren't sitting in starbucks reading a book and someone chucks a latte at your grill.

No, it is NOT obvious what is going on. I have never seen a promotion where I was afraid of getting hurt. NEVER. You know why? Because if you are doing a promotion that gets people hurt, you shouldn't be doing it. Period.

I brought up the five year old because the argument that everybody should be paying attention to the mascot is ridiculous. The speed that this hot dog had to have hit this guy's eye at was obviously fast enough that you question if a kid would have caught it either. That's dangerous.

Every time I see t-shirt cannons they got shot UP in the air. Throwing anything at eye level is just plain stupid. The Royals are absolutely on the hook here. They approved a promotion where somebody could get hurt. They took no care to wrap the hot dog up protectively. And you have a mascot who's obviously throwing it too hard and, worse, is carelessly throwing it behind his back instead of aiming for someone.

[BWillie]

Nexr time slugger gets near me im just running away. Just gonna dive on the ground. You aint injuring me you maniacal lion.

HOW YOUR TEAMS MASCOT IS PLOTTING TO KILL YOU! ON THE NEXT 60 MINUTES. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY FROM HOT DOGS.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by jettio

Exactly? So you went to the game with Saul Good that night and personally witnessed what happened?

Did you go out for dinner and drinks after the game?

Yeah. You have to be at the game to know what a hot dog toss is like. Maybe this one used hot dogs made of steel being thrown by Randy Johnson...or maybe some guy got hit in the face by a hot dog because he sucks at life.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

What do you mean it wasn't caused by the negligence of the Royals?

They approved a promotion that clearly had a chance of inflicting serious medical damage on a person.

And you are completely self righteous if you act like you are locked in every time something is being launched. You said it yourself. A million things are going on. You might be laughing at the guy three sections over, or looking at the scoreboard. Or looking at your program. Or putting down your beer. Or calling for the beer guy.

I mean, how old are you? The only people who lock in to the mascots are kids and parents trying to get shit for their kids. Almost everyone I know not in these categories uses intermissions to get food, get a beer, go to the bathroom, or talk to their neighbor. Nor should I feel obligated to pay extra attention to the mascot.

It CLEARLY had a chance of inflicting SERIOUS MEDICAL DAMAGE? Really? Surely, then, people must have been running away screaming, "NOOOO! I didn't sign up for this!" while this was going on, then. I mean, throwing lit M-80s into the crowd could clearly cause serious medical damage. Firing water balloons full of boiling grease from the grease traps at fans would clearly cause serious medical damage. If lobbing hotdogs to clamoring fans is CLEARLY going to cause SERIOUS MEDICAL DAMAGE, then surely this guy would have been hit from behind while trying to flee the dangerous situation rather than hit in the eye.

[DJ's left nut]

You know how you can tell when someone has run out of useful things to say?

They start using All-Caps in their straw-men. Simply making illogical reaches doesn't work any more - it's time to start doing so emphatically.

Saul and BWillie have certainly acquitted themselves nicely thus far.

Carry on, gents. You're doing great.

[Valiant]

Yeah. The royals just need to pay his medical expenses and maybe free tickets and it would go away. The guy seems to only be going after the damage. Not retirement.

And it was probably a lottery shot to cause that damage but it happened.

[BigCatDaddy]

I'd have to let this one slide just so I wouldnt be known as the guy that got his eye poked out by a weiner.

[warrior]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

You know how you can tell when someone has run out of useful things to say?

They start using All-Caps in their straw-men. Simply making illogical reaches doesn't work any more - it's time to start doing so emphatically.

Saul and BWillie have certainly acquitted themselves nicely thus far.

Carry on, gents. You're doing great.

[Saul Good]

This event is like the climax scene from Ghostbusters where the guy can't clear his mind, so he thinks of the most harmless thing possible...the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. He might as well have imagined a big fuzzy costumed character tossing hot dogs to fans at a baseball game.

To say that the Royals should have anticipated someone getting injured is preposterous. Fans at a professional sporting event should be expected to have a minimum amount of awareness of what is going on around them. If you don't notice that everyone around you is clamoring for hot dogs being tossed by the giant Lion mascot standing 20 feet away from you...that's on you.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

You know how you can tell when someone has run out of useful things to say?...

...

[mike_b_284]

dammit, now I want a hot dog and the closest QT is in Dallas. Thanks slugger. asshole.