Court Trial Set for Man Injured by Baseball

Four years ago a resident of Stamford, Anthony Catalano, was stuck in the face by a baseball.  Catalano sued the town for damages, and after several years the case will now go to trial, as reported by Greenwich Time.

Catalano sustained serious facial injuries after being hit by an errant softball while he walked near a field in Bruce Park that sits along Kinsman Lane. The case was filed in state Superior Court in July of 2006, the accident took place in 2005.

During a men's adult softball game a ball passed over, or around, the backstop behind home plate and hit Catalano on one side of his face. Catalano had facial surgery following the impact. The lawsuit states that he has injuries that affected his right eye, as well as his sense of hearing, smell and taste.

Stewart Casper, of the Stamford firm Casper & De Toledo, will be trying to prove that the injuries were directly due to the town's negligence in both the construction, and maintenance, of their baseball field.  He claims that the city did not adhere to the proper dimensions required, when the field was erected, that would prevent accidents of this nature. 

Casper is seeking several millions of dollars in damages. Town lawyers contend that there are no guidelines, codes or mandates that govern what municipalities choose for the dimensions of their fields. In essence, they are claiming that the town's officials had the full discretion to maintain the field in any way it saw fit.

Casper stated that industry standards declare that fields must have a 25-foot distance between home plate and the backstop.  Bruce Park field only has 15 feet.  He stated, "We believe the evidence will demonstrate that not only was there an industry-wide standard governing the height and location of backstop in relation to home plate, but that one of the town's own documents shows that the governing constitution for the slow-pitch softball league specifies that the rules apply to all games."

Catalano's lawsuit states that the town was negligent and created a public nuisance for the way in which they maintained their park's field.

John Wayne Fox, for Greenwich said, "There is no state statute, no code and no requirement with respect to these fences and how high they should be or far back. There are some guidelines, some suggestions and recommendations, but no mandate on a community."

The space between the plate and the backstop remains unchanged.

Fox also contends that there are no witnesses to the way the ball left the playing field.  He said, "It is purely speculative on their part over the trajectory of ball."

Both Catalano and Fox are confident in their cases. Casper said, "There is never any guarantees in this line of work, but having done a great number of municipal-liability cases, I feel very good about the state of our evidence and our ability to establish liability."

Fox felt that the jury may see things in "a different light."

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