PLAINTIFF HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL PLAYER ASSUMED THE RISK OF BEING STRUCK WITH A BALL DURING A PRACTICE DRILL WHERE MULTIPLE BALLS WERE IN PLAY; TWO DISSENTING MEMORANDA (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, over two separate dissents, determined plaintiff high school baseball player assumed the risk of injury from being struck with a ball during a so-called “Warrior Drill” where multiple balls are in play:

Having more than one ball in play may not be an inherent risk in a traditional baseball game, but the record indicates that it is a risk inherent in baseball team practices … . Although plaintiff asserts that the presence of a screen between certain players may have provided a false sense of security that they would be protected, thereby creating a dangerous condition beyond the normal dangers inherent in the sport, this argument is belied by his testimony unequivocally establishing that he did not rely upon the screen for safety but, rather, thought that the drill was unsafe even in the presence of the screen. Thus, the conditions were “as safe as they appear[ed] to be” … .  As the evidence showed that plaintiff was an experienced baseball player who “knew of the risks, appreciated their nature and voluntarily assumed them,” defendants demonstrated their prima facie entitlement to summary judgment under the primary assumption of risk doctrine … . Grady v Chenango Val. Cent. Sch. Dist., 2021 NY Slip Op 00468, Third Dept 1-28-21