Evaluate field conditions
By Scott Bills
Photo © Can Stock Photo / motionshooter
At 4:15 p.m. on March 30, 2015, a player was injured in a high-school softball game. As she slid into home plate, her foot caught in the turf; she continued to slide but her foot was turned the wrong way.
The softball field was comprised of painted baselines at the southwest corner of an all-synthetic, carpet-style nylon soccer field. The surface material was uniform in all areas except the right-hand batter’s box. This surface measured approximately 3 feet wide by 5 feet deep and consisted of a taller fiber sewn onto a rubber backing. The section appeared to be a repair and replacement of the original surface. The piece was significantly different than the original carpeting in length of fibers, texture, and thickness. The thickness of the rubber backing was ½ inch, and the fibers were 1½ inches high compared to the ½-inch height of the surrounding surface. The replacement piece was not attached, connected, or otherwise anchored to the surrounding synthetic carpeting or substrate, and protruded ¼ inch to ½ inch above the surrounding surface.
Needless to say, the school district was found liable in causing the young woman’s injury.