Alleging that her finger was injured when the mascot for the Houston Astros shot a t-shirt cannon in her direction at close range, a woman is suing the organization for over $1 million. The alleged incident occurred last summer, however, the lawsuit was filed on Monday, April 8, 2019.
In the suit, Jennifer Harughty is claiming that she was seated behind third base during the July 8, 2018, game when the mascot, Orbit, allegedly shot the t-shirt cannon toward the stands. She has stated that the t-shirt hit her at close range and shattered her finger. According to the lawsuit, following the injury, Harughty was cared for at the emergency room. Here, she says that the prognosis was a severe fracture to her left index finger which would necessitate surgery. On July 12, 2018, two screws were placed into the finger by an orthopedic surgeon, after which she has attended physical therapy twice weekly. A second surgery was performed on October 16, 2018, to remove the screws, thereby restoring use of the finger.
Photo: Facebook/Houston Astros Orbit
“It was a life-changing event that I think if it happened to anybody else … they would feel the same way,” Harughty explained to abc13.com. “It has nothing to do with the Astros.” The lawsuit claims that there is a very limited range of motion in the finger and further claims it’s likely there’s permanent damage. Harughty has claimed that her medical bills total more than $15K at present. She is seeking compensation for these as we well as alleged physical pain, mental anguish, loss of earnings, lost life enjoyment, and lost opportunity. She has alleged that there was negligence on the part of the Astros organization with respect to a failure to provide warnings with respect to any risks associated with the t-shirt cannon. The suit also claims that the staff wasn’t properly trained on its equipment or to have proper safety policies in place to protect fans. Since the filing, a statement has been issued by the Texas MLB team which states that the organization is “aware of the lawsuit with allegations regarding Orbit’s t-shirt launcher,” and that they don’t “agree with the allegations.”
