Amazin! Mets Fan Sues over Fat Man Falling on Her
A Mets fan is suing the Mets, the beer concession stand in CitiField (formerly known as Shea Stadium), and the union of security guards for the team. Her reason? She was literally squashed like a bug by a fellow Mets fan who weighs approximately 300 pounds.
According to the Gothamist, Ms. Ellen Massey was severely injured by a fat man falling on her during an opening day Mets game at Shea Stadium back in 2007. The New York Post reports that Ms. Massey was watching the game with her nephews when Mr. Timothy Cassidy fell from a few rows above and literally crushed her.
Ms. Massey, a New York attorney, claims that as a result of the crushing injury she now suffers from a broken vertebrae that required two rods to be inserted into her back. Her lawsuit claims that the other defendants should have known that Mr. Cassidy was getting too rambunctious for his own good. The New York Post quotes her lawsuit as saying: stadium personnel and vendors "knew or had reason to know from his behavior that he was already intoxicated," and it's because of their negligence that he became "unruly, uncoordinated and fell." So I guess Ms. Massey believes that if the Mets concession stand did not give him the beers, and that if security guards noticed his behaviors, they could have prevented Mr. Cassidy's fall.
The case gets even crazier. Mr. Cassidy allegedly ran away before Ms. Massey could identify the person who fell on her. However, once he had been identified, his attorney said another person was to blame for Mr. Cassidy's fall. The New York Post reports that Mr. Cassidy claims that he fell because he was pushed by fellow Mets fan Eric Metzger. Mr. Metzger was annoyed because Mr. Cassidy kept using his Blackberry during the game. I guess he was taking him out of the ballgame! I may be a flashy girl from Flushing, but remind me to be careful next time I head out to a Mets game.
Related Resources:
- Take Notes About the Incident and Your Injuries (Findlaw)
- Who Might be Responsible for Negligence? (Findlaw)
- Specific Legal Duties (Findlaw)
- Premises Liability (provided by Weinstein, Chase, Messinger & Peters)
- Personal Injury Lawsuit FAQs (provided by Miller, Curtis & Weisbrod, L.L.P.)