Yesterday I happened to be watching a baseball game for a few minutes, and had the privilege of seeing a batter lose control of his bat, and the bat flying off into the stands. In this case, things turned out happily–someone actually managed to catch the thing. But I imagine this would usually end in serious injury.
Who pays the medical bill in such a case? Is the person who got hit on the hook due to the indemnification on the ticket? Or is the batter, or his team on the hook? Or does someone involved with the game generally step in and pay without being required to, as a PR matter? Or what?
The person being hit is on the hook; such injuries are considered a known risk for spectators, and courts have consistently ruled in favor of the clubs.
Teams will provide medical help on site, but probably won’t pay medical bills.
The reverse of an MLB ticket usually has a disclaimer that the spectator is responsible for paying attention and not getting hit by objects coming from the field of play; it’s also clearly announced prior to first pitch, and can be found posted around the stadium.
Apart from contracts of adhesion, and apart from differences between jurisdictions, I think it might revolve around what risks a spectator might be legally thought to assume.
Example: At a baseball game, there is a non-zero chance (though very small chance) that the bat will land in the stands during the normal course of play. However, at a cricket game, the only way that the bat hits a spectator is if one of the batsmen deliberately throws it out of the field. If that happens (perhaps because the batsman saw his ex-girlfriend’s lover, threw the bat at him, missed, and hit an innocent bystander), who is liable? Pretty clearly the batsman is – he’s probably guilty of some crime as well – but are the clubs and the promoters of the game? Probably not, because the batsman is not taking a normal action in the game when he throws the bat at a spectator. It’s not a risk that arises from the normal playing of cricket – even if there is a risk that a spectator will be hit by the ball.
That poor bat! I hope somebody was careful with it and released it. They may look a little evil, but they are very useful in keeping down the amount of mosquitoes in an area.