A New Jersey woman is seeking $10 million from the New York Yankees and several other companies after a bat flew into the stands and hit her in the head at Yankee Stadium on June 2.
Stephanie Duluc, 37, says she was sitting in the fourth row behind home plate during a game between the Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians when the bat came loose and crossed the protective netting, according to a complaint filed this month. The lawsuit says Cleveland third baseman José Ramírez lost control of his bat while swinging, and that it traveled into the seats and struck Duluc, knocking her out of her chair.
Duluc, a senior healthcare executive, claims the blow left her with a traumatic brain injury, concussion and other serious injuries that have kept her from returning to work. The complaint says she has also dealt with severe and ongoing post-traumatic headaches, light sensitivity, injuries to both hands and a neck injury, and that the symptoms continue to disable her.
The lawsuit calls the episode “violent and entirely preventable” and argues that the netting in front of her section was lower than in adjacent areas behind home plate. “The lower netting left an open gap above Plaintiff’s seats through which a foreseeably airborne bat could, and did, pass,” the complaint states.
The YES Network broadcast caught part of the moment as it unfolded. One announcer said the bat had gone into the stands and over the protective screen and added, “Hopefully everybody’s okay,” before the telecast later showed a woman in the stands holding her head.
“It was a woman who got hit. She’s on her feet now,” the announcer said.
According to the lawsuit, Duluc was at the game as a guest of her employer, which has season tickets. The complaint names the Yankees, Yankee Stadium and companies it says were involved in the stadium’s protective netting system, including Promats Athletics and its parent company, Sportsfield Specialties.
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