$10 Million Wrongful death lawsuit filed against Patriots

[Ian]

Being a douche doesn't necessarily mean that you or the team you're working for deserves to get hit with a wrongful death lawsuit. The guy had a weak heart, he got into a heated argument (when he could have simply just ignored the guard as well) and died. Now, three years later, the wife is seeing dollar signs. It's simply a sad situation that the wife is turning into a despicable one over her greed.

I agree, and I just don't see what legal ground she has to stand on. What happened is tragic, but legally I just can't see where there could be any negligence proven that would win the case. I think you're right, the $10 million price tag is more to hopefully get some sort of compensation, but I don't see how she could win. Although I think it's more the lawyer seeing dollar signs than her.

 

[belichick010405]

I agree, and I just don't see what legal ground she has to stand on. What happened is tragic, but legally I just can't see where there could be any negligence proven that would win the case. I think you're right, the $10 million price tag is more to hopefully get some sort of compensation, but I don't see how she could win. Although I think it's more the lawyer seeing dollar signs than her.

Ian - do you have any links regarding the witness accounts in how the security guard treated the deceased by chance?

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

From what I saw of the pictures,the guy was pretty overweight and looked out of shape.

She should sue Hostess for selling Twinkies and Wendy for their Baconator for that Heart Attack.....not the Patriots

Feel sorry for the loss,but the Patriots didn't cause his death.

 

[Demosthenes]

Demos - do you even know who Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis are?

They are two of many people out there who did not know that they had a heart condition.

It is clear that you are over here just to argue. Do yourself a favor, go back to the Tebow thread.

I'm well aware of Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis. Both were tragedies.

And I know that there are "many" people (in absolute terms) out there who have heart conditions but are unaware of them.

Now, back to the actual discussion. You are arguing as a point of law that the security guard is responsible for the guy's death. I argued that the guy died because of his heart condition. You asked how I knew that and I replied saying "Because the guy was 40 and died from cardiac arrest".

In other words, I actually defended the position that you questioned. In response to that, you put out the names of other guys who died at a young age from unknown heart conditions and now you want to argue about that for some reason.

What you haven't done is defend your initial position, or refute what I said, which is that the guy died because he had a heart condition.

 

[Ian]

Ian - do you have any links regarding the witness accounts in how the security guard treated the deceased by chance?

I'd have to go back and look. I remember it because there were a ton of stories on it when I was doing the morning links two years ago, and I remember reading it and just being stunned by what happened. I'm only on my lunch break now but I'll dig a bit tonight when I get home from work and I'll see what I can find.

 

[Termigator]

Being a douche doesn't necessarily mean that you or the team you're working for deserves to get hit with a wrongful death lawsuit. The guy had a weak heart, he got into a heated argument (when he could have simply just ignored the guard as well) and died. Now, three years later, the wife is seeing dollar signs. It's simply a sad situation that the wife is turning into a despicable one over her greed.

It's been three years? Whats MA's statute of limitation on a civil wrongful death case?

When I saw the pictures of this guy, Obese hit me between the runnin' lights. He was not just fat, he was obese. It really doesn't need to be a whole lot of excess weight to increase your risk. My cardiologist has told me that the three main risk factors are: history of heart problems, hypertension, and smoking. Normally a person should maintain a LDL level of 130 or less. If you have two or more of the above listed factors then your LDL must stay below 100. Since we aren't privy to this guy's medical records we can only guess at his risk factors but I've personally worked many MI and CVA med calls where the patient was a lot thinner and healthier looking than this guy.

 

[kennyb]

Whether the guy who died knew he had a heart condition is not relevent, I don't think.

If he didn't know, then the security guard couldn't possibly have been expected to know.

The security guard was doing his job, how is that negligence? Even if it directly caused his heart attack, he was still doing his job.

 

[goheels22002]

Demos - do you even know who Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis are?

They are two of many people out there who did not know that they had a heart condition.

It is clear that you are over here just to argue. Do yourself a favor, go back to the Tebow thread.

Hank Gathers indeed did not know he had a heart condition.

Reggie Lewis, and his wife, Donna Harris Lewis, completely understood that he had a very serious life-threatening heart condition. They chose to ignore it, walk out of the hospital against a "dream team" of cardiologists medical advice, and hunt down a doctor who would clear him to keep playing.
Remembering Reggie | CelticsLife.com - Boston Celtics Fan Site, Blog, T-shirts

 

[kennyb]

I highly doubt that the security guard "acted in a textbook manner" because had he, he would have approached the NFL officials. It is clear that he did probably did not.

I didn't say he HAD. I said that IF HE HAD, he'd still be subject to a lawsuit using your logic. IF the plaintiff gets upset and dies, then security is liable, that's your take on it, seems to me. Doesn't matter what security did, they could have done everything perfectly and if the guy dies anyway, they're liable. I don't think that's the way the law is.

 

[belichick010405]

"Dwayne Hunter, 27, a military police officer from New Brunswick, Canada, told the Sun Chronicle that the man’s son had been standing next to the field with a Patriot’s banner when officials invited him onto the field to run along the sidelines and get pictures."

Jeffrey Chartier of Chicopee identified as fan who suffered fatal heart attack at Sunday's Patriots game | masslive.com

"He told the event staff member that the NFL officials invited his son down and he (the stadium employee) started asking him if he knew the referees, and he said no, but the guy kept asking him who he knew and became really rude and derogatory toward him," Hunter said.

"Then, when the boy was brought back, there were two other event staffers talking with them, and I heard one telling the father that it was fine that his son was on the field, but the other guy kept giving him a hard time," the eyewitness said.

"I couldn't hear everything they were saying, but I did hear him say 'He's 6 years old. How can you make him cry on opening day when he just had one of the most exciting experiences of his life?'" Hunter said. "Then he sat down in his seat and that's when he keeled over."

Hunter said he spoke with a security supervisor who said the staffer who was giving the man a hard time "will not have a job here tomorrow."

"I just feel really bad that this happened," he said. "You should have seen the guy - he was so happy. He was happier than his son, I think, when he was invited onto the field. He was smiling and taking pictures then this guy had to come over and ruin everything and act unprofessional.

"I mean, the guy said he was a season ticket holder and he and his son were both wearing Patriots' jerseys. They were big fans and shouldn't have been treated that way."

Witness: Fan argued with staffer - The Sun Chronicle : Local News

 

[FirstAndGoal]

Did he die from Cardiac Arrest or a Heart Attack? They are two different things and although I don't expect everyone to know that, the lazy media needs to know the difference.


Think of plumbing vs electrical.

It's very possible to have a Cardiac Arrest with completely clean arteries.

The electrical side rarely ever has to do with obesity. You can get electrical problems if you have had a prior heart attack because of heart damage (doesn't sound like it) but you can have electrical problems and be the picture of health (Reggie Lewis)

 

[Demosthenes]

"Dwayne Hunter, 27, a military police officer from New Brunswick, Canada, told the Sun Chronicle that the man’s son had been standing next to the field with a Patriot’s banner when officials invited him onto the field to run along the sidelines and get pictures."

Jeffrey Chartier of Chicopee identified as fan who suffered fatal heart attack at Sunday's Patriots game | masslive.com

"He told the event staff member that the NFL officials invited his son down and he (the stadium employee) started asking him if he knew the referees, and he said no, but the guy kept asking him who he knew and became really rude and derogatory toward him," Hunter said.

"Then, when the boy was brought back, there were two other event staffers talking with them, and I heard one telling the father that it was fine that his son was on the field, but the other guy kept giving him a hard time," the eyewitness said.

"I couldn't hear everything they were saying, but I did hear him say 'He's 6 years old. How can you make him cry on opening day when he just had one of the most exciting experiences of his life?'" Hunter said. "Then he sat down in his seat and that's when he keeled over."

Hunter said he spoke with a security supervisor who said the staffer who was giving the man a hard time "will not have a job here tomorrow."

"I just feel really bad that this happened," he said. "You should have seen the guy - he was so happy. He was happier than his son, I think, when he was invited onto the field. He was smiling and taking pictures then this guy had to come over and ruin everything and act unprofessional.

"I mean, the guy said he was a season ticket holder and he and his son were both wearing Patriots' jerseys. They were big fans and shouldn't have been treated that way."

Witness: Fan argued with staffer - The Sun Chronicle : Local News

There's absolutely nothing in what you posted that would support a wrongful death claim. Like I have said a number of times, at most, it's warranted a complaint to the Guest Relations office.

 

[chasa]

I choked on a pretzel watching Tebow play QB last week, Thats gotta be worth at least 3 million dollars right?

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Ice - in my view, the most compelling claim that has been made in this complaint can be found in 92 c and d which is on page 12.

Thanks for the link.... I just read the areas that you mentioned. I see some major problems with this suit:

1. Although it may be proven that the security guard was not well trained, was not a nice person, did not treat Jeff well, etc., I don't think this means too much from a legal standpoint. By definition a security guard's realm of responsibility is to protect fans from physical injuries. You could argue that in removing Tedy from the field, that is in fact what he was doing. In that sense, I don't see how he was negligent, even if he was not a "nice guy" in doing so.

2. Biggest issue: the only witness who can attest to the cause of death, and probably to specifics on the situation, is the deceased.

These are just major points that don't even get into some of the other problems. Even if it is proven (and I don't see that happening) that the security guard "caused" the heart attack, it doesn't seem to be within the realm of proximate causation, meaning that no reasonable person could have foreseen that this person had a heart condition.

 

[JackBauer]

It happens more often than you think Kontradiction and it is ok that you assume that he wasn't in "excellent heart health". With that said - if the security guard exacerbated his current medical condition that led to his death, then the security guard is certainly negligent regardless if he knew what his medical condition was or not.

That's patently absurd. How can one be negligent of something if one isn't even aware of its existence?

 

[belichick010405]

Thanks for the link.... I just read the areas that you mentioned. I see some major problems with this suit:

1. Although it may be proven that the security guard was not well trained, was not a nice person, did not treat Jeff well, etc., I don't think this means too much from a legal standpoint. By definition a security guard's realm of responsibility is to protect fans from physical injuries. You could argue that in removing Tedy from the field, that is in fact what he was doing. In that sense, I don't see how he was negligent, even if he was not a "nice guy" in doing so.

2. Biggest issue: the only witness who can attest to the cause of death, and probably to specifics on the situation, is the deceased.

These are just major points that don't even get into some of the other problems. Even if it is proven (and I don't see that happening) that the security guard "caused" the heart attack, it doesn't seem to be within the realm of proximate causation, meaning that no reasonable person could have foreseen that this person had a heart condition.

Ice - you could be right but just keep in mind that the medical outcome doesn't have to be foreseen. Based on judicial precedence, the only thing that matters if what happened was proximate cause from the security guard's desire to get into two separate arguments with the season ticket holder that led to a cardiac arrest and his ultimate death.

In my view, the Patriots are not at fault here unless there are contractual stipulations and standard operating procedures requiring the security guard company to inform the Patriots of any security violations related to this kind of on-field, pre-game incident.

The NFL, the security guard and his employer are at fault for what happened from my view.

 

[belichick010405]

That's patently absurd. How can one be negligent of something if one isn't even aware of its existence?

Are you being serious Jack? There is a difference between being negligent and unaware of your current medical condition by either party.

Here is what is patently absurd:

(1) The security guard, instead of going to the NFL officials and discuss the proper procedure of allowing someone to go on the field, decided to harass and attack the father who was not on the field.

(2) Going back to harass and annoy the father not once but twice according to at least one witness which led to his unfortunate death because of the stress-related exchange.

 

[PatsGuy]

This thread reminds me of the blind snake and blind rabbit wandering the desert. They bump into one another and the snake asks the rabbit "what r u? The rabbit says "I don't know". "Well" says the snake," let me wrap myself around u and I can tell u". The snake then slithers up the rabbit, wraps himself around and say "you're furry, you have long ears..you're a rabbit" "Thanks" said the rabbit, "let me touch u n I can tell u what u r" The rabbit goes up to the snake..."you're cold..you're hard you're scaly" You're a lawyer!

 

[belichick010405]

Father Dies at Patriot Stadium After Heated Argument with Stadium Security - Boston Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

Here is one opinion about what happened and I would like to think that they know a thing or two about Premises Liability.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Ice - you could be right but just keep in mind that the medical outcome doesn't have to be foreseen. Based on judicial precedence, the only thing that matters if what happened was proximate cause from the security guard's desire to get into two separate arguments with the season ticket holder that led to a cardiac arrest and his ultimate death.

In my view, the Patriots are not at fault here unless there are contractual stipulations and standard operating procedures requiring the security guard company to inform the Patriots of any security violations related to this kind of on-field, pre-game incident.

The NFL, the security guard and his employer are at fault for what happened from my view.

I think there are a few possibilities for anyone being at fault, but if they weren't mentioned in the lawsuit, they are probably non-existent:

1. If there is some kind of training for security guards which specifically states that you must diffuse these situations in "x" way to prevent possible heart attacks or stress escalations, then they could be in trouble. Likewise, if there is some kind of memo or information that was sent to the NFL, the Patriots, or the security company, which informs them of the "risky" practice of escalating arguments with fans, then they could be in trouble. However, I doubt there is any correlation between getting into an argument and having a heart attack that is specific to these particular event versus any other type of life situation.

2. If the deceased had said something to the security guard along the lines of "I have a condition, please leave me alone" or "I had a heart attack, please desist" then someone could be in trouble. The fact that he was obese would actually work in the plaintiff's favor, not the defense, but I don't think it's enough- the fact that the man was at a sporting event and apparently was animated himself would negate his supposedly identifiable high-risk obesity. It's not like the man was in a wheelchair and the security guard pushed him over.

Medical outcome, or injury, has to be reasonable foreseeable. I saw the definition that you posted on here, and maybe proximate causation is not the right definition in Massachusetts; many of these legal terms mean something else in other jurisdictions. However, the concept that something needs to be reasonably foreseeable exists in all jurisdictions of common law, and I'm sure it is called something else in MA. Otherwise, I could be negligent by leaving a gun in my front yard, and an unlikely hail storm comes, hail drops on the gun, discharging it and killing someone. I was negligent and the person died, but I would not be liable because that would not be foreseen by a reasonable person and was just really bad luck. I would be liable if there was a school across the street from me and a child picked up the gun and someone. Obviously a reasonable person would know not to leave a weapon out in the open when there are children that frequently walk by.