A 60-year-old Chicago Cubs fan filed a lawsuit against the Cubs and Major League Baseball weeks after he was struck with a foul ball that left him blind in one eye.
Jay Loos suffered a broken nose and other facial injures when a foul ball hit him as the Cubs hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 29, according to a statement provided by his lawyer, Colin Dunn of Clifford Law Offices. The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court on Friday seeks more than $50,000 in damages.
“I knew foul balls go into the stands,” Loos told USA TODAY Sports. “I guess I had no idea how fast they the went. It was a like a missile.”
Loos said he broke his orbital bone, nose and suffered a jaw injury that required surgery. He’s had three procedures overall with more expected.
The Cubs were among the teams that announced they would add more netting to protect fans after a ball hit by New York Yankees slugger Todd Frazier hit a young girl in the face on Sept. 20. Play was halted as she received treatment.
MLB had already suggested each team add more netting to protect fans.
“We continually are talking to the individual clubs about what they should be doing in each of their stadiums I think the reluctance to do it on a league-wide basis only relates to the difficulty of having a single rule that fits 30 stadiums that obviously are not designed the same way,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in July.
While tickets purchased for MLB games spell out the injury risk for batted balls and limits a team’s liability, Loos did not have a ticket for the August game. Instead, his lawyer said he was an invited guest.