Ali Condon
A man is suing the Los Angeles Angels, claiming he was blinded by a baseball that was thrown into the crowd by one of the baseball team's players.
David Mermelstein says he was invited out to a baseball game in June 2022 by some friends who wanted 'get his mind off his troubles for a few hours'.
Not only had Mermelstein's father recently died, but he himself had been diagnosed with brain cancer.
But when a ball was 'randomly hurled' into the crowd during the game, it allegedly hit Mermelstein right in his left eye socket.
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In a civil complaint to Orange County Superior Court on Tuesday (30 May), Mermelstein sought unspecified monetary damages for the injury.
Up until the sixth inning, Mermelstein and his friends were enjoying their day out at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
But, according to his lawsuit, it all took a turn when former Angels outfielder Juan Lagares caught the final out of the inning.
It's typical in baseball for a player to chuck a ball into the crowd for fans to keep as a souvenir, but lawyers for Mermelstein claim that the baseball pro 'hurled the ball in the stands at a high velocity' with his 'cannon for an arm'.
When Lagares threw the ball, Mermelstein alleges he was in the bleachers looking down to eat some peanuts, so didn't see the ball coming.
By the time he looked up, he claims that the ball hit his eye socket so hard that it was 'crushed' and left him permanently blind in his left eye.
Mermelstein's attorney Rob Marcereau has argued that Lagares 'had a duty' to toss the baseball into the crowd 'reasonably and safely.'
According to the Los Angeles Angels Stadium of Anaheim guest guide, fans who attend games are warned to 'remain alert of the game at all times as bats and balls have the potential to leave the field of play'.
This comes under The Baseball Rule, an American tort law that states baseball teams or their sponsoring organisations cannot be held liable for injuries suffered by attendees struck by the likes of a foul ball or a broken bat.
However, Mermelstein's lawyer is arguing that the rule does not apply in this instance, since Lagares allegedly caught the final out and threw the ball into the bleachers after the play had stopped.
The Angels have not commented on pending litigation.