Woman Assaulted at Dodger Stadium Sues

Lance Rubin

Contributor

0 CommentsPrint ArticleSubscribe

A woman who was assaulted in the parking lot at Dodger Stadium by a fan has sued Dodger Stadium for her injuries. When is a landowner responsible for injuries to patrons when those injuries are caused by someone else -- not by the facility?

Assaults can happen any time, anywhere. A woman heading off to Chavez Ravine to attend a Dodger game never thought her trip would end as it did - with her being assaulted and losing sight in one eye.

Many venues, such as malls, concert halls and sporting event locations, hire security guards to make sure their patrons are safe. If the security guards fail to do their job, or they do it in a sub-par manner, the property owner can be liable to a patron for the injuries, even if the direct cause of those injuries is a third party.

At Dodger Stadium

Signs at stadium entrances warn fans that abusive behavior will not be tolerated, and the stadium's employee handbook instructs ushers that people who ignore warnings about using abusive language should be asked to leave.

Here, the Dodger Stadium employees just moved unruly fans around, but didn't follow their own rules and kick out the trouble-makers.

These so-called "negligent security" cases may be tough to win, but if the facility undertook to provide security and the security didn't do its job, the venue can be responsible for the harm done to its visitors.