Fans Enthusiasm Creates Risks For Pro Sports Leagues, Their Insurers

Zealous sports fans have liability insurance companies caught in a rundown between the desire to get up-close and personal with superstar athletes and managements need to protect spectators from the inherent hazards of the sport.

The new generation of retro-style baseball stadiums was designed to bring fans closer to the action. The downside is that fans seated along the first- and third-base foul lines are only a split second away from being struck by a screaming line drive.

“Fans clamor to get closer to the action, and teams try to accommodate their wishes,” said Major League spokesperson Matthew Gould. “If a pitcher is throwing the ball at over 90 miles an hour, a homerun hitter can produce a foul ball with the velocity of a missile.”

Professional sports franchises have taken additional steps to protect fans this season in reaction to the 13-year-old girl who was killed in March after being struck by a puck at a National Hockey League game in Columbus, Ohio. Brittanie Cecil of suburban Columbus walked out of the arena the night of the game, but died two days later as the result of a ruptured artery, according to the autopsy.

The NHL has ordered all 30 of its teams to install protective netting above the standard Plexiglas to safeguard the crowd.

“When you have a tragedy, it becomes time to re-evaluate and see what needs to be done,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. “As the parent of a 13-year-old daughter, I think about this on a daily basis.”

None of the 30 Major League Baseball teams would identify the insurance company that protects ownership from the legal ramifications that could arise from a fan who is injured during a game. But modifications have been made to each stadium this season to protect the fans that sit in the most vulnerable locations.

All professional baseball ballparks have a 30 to 40 foot-wide screen behind home plate to protect fans in the most expensive seats. For example, the screen at Houstons Minute Maid Park (formerly Enron Field) was extended this spring as far as the camera wells adjacent to each dugout.

Signage and pre-game announcements have also been increased at major league ballparks to warn fans of the danger from balls leaving the playing field. Many teams repeat the warnings during the game on the public address system or on the video scoreboard. Some teams will even relocate fans who feel unsafe in their ticketed seats.

But most fans seem willing to take the risk in trade for a $4 souvenir.

“One of the biggest thrills of any fan is to catch a foul or home run ball,” said Paul So, manager of guest relations for the Toronto Blue Jays. “By eliminating this, it may detract from a fans enjoyment. In addition, the net may act as a partial vision distraction.”

“It would be difficult to put up netting in front of the field level boxes that does not obstruct the fans view of the action on the field,” said Kelly Kim, corporate communications representative of the San Diego Padres.

“Most fans wouldnt stand for netting to protect them from foul balls or the occasional thrown bat,” said Kristy E. Suworoff, coordinator of guest relations for the Milwaukee Brewers. “They want balls hit in their direction.”

Baseball keeps records on almost every element of the game, even foul balls. According to MLB statistics, an average of 35 to 40 balls are hit into the stands during every game. Injuries occur most often to fans sitting along the first and third base lines, but there have been reports of injuries in almost every corner of a ballpark.

The majority of claims filed with Francis L. Dean & Associates Inc. in Wheaton, Ill., were for broken noses, simple facial lacerations, broken glasses or dislocated fingers. The family-run company is the self-proclaimed nations leader in sports insurance.

“Most people are too embarrassed to file a claim against their own team,” said Vice President John Dean. “Policies can insure teams for up to $1 million per incident, but most people are happy if we simply take care of their medical bills.”

Management tries to avoid claims by rushing a team representative to personally care for an injured fan. One team spokespersonwho asked to remain anonymousprofessed that most claims against his National League team were settled with just a hot dog and an autograph.

The only reported death in Major League Baseball took place in May of 1970, when a 14-year-old fan was hit in the head by a foul ball off the bat of Manny Mota at Dodger Stadium. The youngster was given two aspirin and returned to his seat. He died four days later of a severe brain injury.

Fan enthusiasm is creating different kinds of risks at golf tournaments, where even the normally polite spectators have turned rowdy, pushing through temporary barriers and ignoring restricted areas in their pursuit of Tiger Woods and other top-flight players on the professional tour.

In golf, slips and falls outnumber the claims from spectators struck by a hook or slice off the tee, according to Pat Hirigoyen of St. Paul Property and Casualty Insurance Company. St. Paul provides coverage for sponsors of PGA tournaments as well as many of the courses that host Tournament Players Championships through its Eagle 3 Program.

Mr. Hirigoyen said his company has responded to more injuries from tipped-over golf carts than from spectators who were hit by a stray shot.

Todd Rhinehart is executive director of the NEC World Golf Championship this month (Aug. 20-25) at the Sahalee Country Club in suburban Seattle. He said the real danger to individuals in a gallery comes from the Pro-Am portion of the tournament that normally precedes a PGA or Senior PGA event.

“A Tour professional rarely misses so badly that their ball flies into the crowd,” Rhinehart told National Underwriter. “The danger comes from the crowds that follow celebrities like [basketball players] Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. The amateurs who play with the golf pro can pose a real danger to onlookers.

“Take Charles Barkley. He is a terrible golfer.”

Dan Aznoff is the former editor of Insurance West. He now covers the Seattle Mariners and baseball in the Pacific Northwest for The Baseball Journal. Aznoff is a freelance writer who makes his home in Bellevue, WA. He can be reached at DAjurnalist@msn.com.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, August 5, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.

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Fans Enthusiasm Creates Risks For Pro Sports Leagues, Their Insurers

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