Baseball Injuries Cause Stir in Court and Out : A Negligence Suit in Little League Is Settled, but a Season Is Imperiled

The settlement of a lawsuit involving a former Little League player who was injured when he lost a fly ball in the sun has thrown a shadow over the future of youth baseball in the community, the president of the youth athletic association says.

The terms of the settlement of the lawsuit, which had been scheduled to go to trial in Camden County Superior Court on July 22, were not disclosed.

But league officials said they are likely to cancel the rest of the season as a result of the lawsuit on behalf of 13-year-old Joey Fort, whose left eye was injured when he misplayed a fly ball in practice before an all-star game on July 10, 1982, in Berlin Township.

Jack Yaribinee, one of the coaches named as a defendant, said he was disappointed they did not have a “day in court” to respond to allegations that they were negligent in shifting the youth from second base to the outfield for the all-star game.

According to the suit, Fort’s move to the outfield put him in an unfamiliar position. The family argued that the youth should have been equipped with flip-down baseball sunglasses or trained to shield his eyes from the sun with his glove.

The boy’s father said his son, who wears a contact lens on his left eye, has had five operations since the ball struck him in the eye.

One of the operations was for cataracts, and the “fear of glaucoma is always present,” the father said. He said medical expenses have reached $14,000.