14 DAY TRIAL // In 2009, Slugger, the Kansas City Royals Mascot, threw a tinfoil-wrapped hot dog in the stands and it hit a fan in the eye, causing, according to a new lawsuit, permanent eye damage. John Coomer, the victim, is now taking the case to the Missouri Supreme Court, Sports Yahoo! reports.
As per court documents, Coomer has been through hell since he was struck with the hot dog in the eye: he’s had two surgeries in the hope to regain his vision and has incurred a hefty medical bill and, with all that, his vision has not been repaired.
He wants the Kansas City Royals to foot the bill, which is why he’s pursuing the case further. He believes the team should be held accountable for what happened because, after all, the mascot is on their payroll.
“[The team] failed to adequately train its agents in the proper method in which to throw hotdogs into the stands at Kauffman Stadium,” Coomer claims in court documents.
At the same time, “the Royals, on the other hand, say they’re covered by the ‘baseball rule’ – a legal standard that protects teams from being sued over fan injuries caused by events on the field, court or rink. In other words, the fine print on your tickets,” Sports Yahoo! notes.
However, Coomer’s medical bill is now of $4,900 (€3,615) and he simply can’t understand why he has to pay it when he thinks the mascot was responsible for the incident.