John Coomer said he was injured by the hot dog and sued the Kansas City Royals. A jury ruled in favor of the Royals. The jury decided that flying wieners were a risk fans had to accept just like foul balls or bats going into the stands.
The court's opinion waxed a little poetic when it came to those joys of the game:
Such risks are an unavoidable – even desirable – part of the joy that comes with being close enough to the Great American Pastime to smell the new-mown grass, to hear the crack of 42 inches of solid ash meeting
a 95-mph fastball, or to watch a diving third baseman turn a heart-rending triple into a soul-soaring double-play. The risk of being injured by Sluggerrr’s hotdog toss, on the other hand, is not an unavoidable part of watching the Royals play baseball. That risk is no more inherent in watching a game of baseball than it is inherent in watching a rock concert, a monster truck rally, or any other assemblage where free food or T-shirts are tossed into the crowd to increase excitement and boost attendance.
The case was remanded for another trial.
The incident occurred when Coomer, who frequently attended Royals games took his father to Kauffman Stadium on September 8, 2009, a rainy day, to see the Royals play the Detroit Tigers.
Because of the rain, they moved closer to the field, putting them in closer proximity to any airborne sausages that might head their way.
Right after they moved, Sluggerr climbed on top of the visitors' dugout and shot hot dogs at the fans.
The launch occurs between innings, when Sluggerrr uses an air gun to shoot hotdogs from the roof of the visitor’s dugout to fans seated beyond hand-tossing range. When his assistants are reloading the air gun, Sluggerrr tosses hotdogs by hand to the fans seated nearby. Sluggerrr generally tossed the hotdogs underhand while facing the fans but sometimes throws overhand, behind his back, and side-armed.
Coomer says he never saw the wiener coming. He turned and "something hit me in the face.:
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