Sports Injury – Aluminum Bats
Recently, a boy suffered severe brain injury when struck by a line drive off of an aluminum baseball bat. As Orlando injury lawyers, we have followed the debate over whether aluminum bats are inherently more dangerous for children than wooden bats. Advocates for allowing aluminum bats include aluminum bat manufacturers and leagues that choose to use metal bats because they do not break as easily, and thus reduce costs. Aluminum bats can also be a better teaching tool as they are easier to use.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning about dangers created by metal bats as early as 1975, shortly after they became widely used. A 2002 Brown University study confirms that balls hit by aluminum bats have a greater velocity than those by wooden bats. However, after that study new standards were promulgated which advocates for metal bats conclude make those findings moot.
Obviously, an inherent danger in baseball is the risk of a child being struck by a batted ball. However, the severity of the injury can be minimized by careful regulations. Currently, many leagues regulate the specifications of the aluminum bats permitted for use. These regulations seek to restrict the amount of force the bat can transfer to the ball. State legislatures have considered banning metal bats, have banned their use in high school games and have considered a ban in any recreational game in which a child under age 13 participates.
It is important in any sport to balance the interests of the sport and the safety of the participants. No where is this more appropriate than where children are concerned.
