A man this week sued the Colorado Rockies for negligence after he was struck in the face with a foul ball while sitting in a Coors Field luxury box — in part blaming the team’s poor performance for the injury.
Timothy Roeckel suffered “catastrophic and permanent injuries” when he was hit in the face and right eye by a foul ball during the Rockies’ July 16, 2023, game against the New York Yankees, attorneys for Denver firm Nielsen Weisz wrote in the lawsuit filed Monday in Denver District Court.
He was a guest of the box owner and did not pay for a ticket.
The foul ball was hit by a Rockies batter in the bottom of the first inning, and Roeckel couldn’t see it coming because of “architectural elements including the ceiling of the luxury box and the overhang of the stadium’s bleacher seats,” the lawsuit states.
“It was not physically possible for (Roeckel) to see the foul ball from the seat in question,” his attorneys wrote.
While Colorado law protects stadiums from liability when fans are injured during games, Roeckel’s attorneys argue that this case is an exception because the Rockies did not make a reasonable effort to keep the stadium safe.
Specifically, the team did not extend netting to protect fans despite being warned about the risk of foul balls by engineers, encouraged “non-spectating behavior” like dining and socializing, mounted televisions that distract fans from the game and designed luxury boxes that obstruct the view of the field.
Extending protective netting has been a longstanding conversation among Major League Baseball officials, and the Rockies — along with dozens of other teams — have increased netting coverage in the past.
The team’s poor track record is also to blame for Roeckel’s injury, the lawsuit states.
“Defendant’s longstanding poor performance on the field (has) contributed to a game-day environment in which spectators, particularly those in luxury suites, are less engaged with the action on the field,” attorneys with Nielsen Weisz wrote.
That’s caused a stadium culture shift toward focusing on socializing, dining and networking, the lawsuit states.
“This cultural shift is not incidental but rather encouraged by (the Rockies’) own marketing and design choices, which emphasize hospitality and off-field amenities over fan vigilance,” Roeckel’s attorneys wrote.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and an unspecified amount of money for damages.
A spokesperson for the Rockies could not immediately be reached for comment on the lawsuit.
