Jury Awards $850,000 In Louisville Slugger Case

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A Montana jury took a swing at the makers of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat.

The panel ruled in favor of a family who sued the company for not warning users about the dangers of using aluminum bats.

The verdict means Hillerich and Bradsby is on the hook for $850,000. The company said it's not sure what it means beyond that because the jury also decided there was nothing wrong with the product.

“We think that most players understand the risk that they're taking when they step onto the field,” said Hillerich and Bradsby spokesman Rick Redman.

In 2003, 18-year-old Brandon Patch died after being hit in the head by a ball he threw to a batter. That batter was using an aluminum Louisville Slugger.

Patch family attorneys argued the manufacturer did not provide proper warning about the dangers of using aluminum bats.

A jury awarded the family a total of $850,000, including $750,000 in lost wages.

“We came into this not knowing. We were just hoping to prevail for Brandon. This is for Brandon and for the other kids on the field,” said his mother Deb Patch.

“I think we're all kind of wondering if this is even an indictment of the entire game of baseball,” said Redman.

Redman pointed to the fact that the jury did not find the product to be defective. He doesn't know if the company will now have to put special labels on metal bats, but he fears it could change sport as we know it.

“It's really a statement on the society that we live in today that we have to have a warning label on everything and that you just wonder if we're heading down that path more and more of being a nanny state,” said Redman.

Redman said Hillerich and Bradsby is considering whether to appeal the decision.

There is still an outstanding case in New Jersey against the company involving a teen paralyzed by a line drive that came off an aluminum Louisville Slugger.

Copyright 2009 by WLKY.com