Astros Fan Sues Team Saying Mascot Orbit's T-Shirt Cannon Broke Her Finger
CONROE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A woman from a Houston suburb is suing the Houston Astros for more than $1 million.
She said a T-shirt cannon fired at a game by Astros mascot, Orbit, severely broke her finger, the Houston Chronicle reports.
According to court records obtained by the Chronicle, Jennifer Harughty of Montgomery County says Orbit "shattered" her finger during a July 2018 game after firing a T-shirt from a "bazooka style" cannon into the stands that "struck Harughty at close distance."
Harughty was sitting halfway up the first deck behind third base at the time of the incident, according to court records.
The T-shirt struck her index finger head on, fracturing it and ultimately required two surgeries, according to court records.
Two screws had to be placed in Harughty's left index finger to repair the fracture and Harughty was required to attend physical therapy twice a week, yet she "continued to suffer pain, swelling and loss of range of motion," court records state. After the second surgery in October, Harughty's finger is still damaged and "remains locked in an extended position with little to no range of motion," court records show.
The lawsuit claims the Astros were negligent in failing to use reasonable care in firing the T-shirt cannon, failing to provide warnings to attendees about the risk the cannons pose and failing to properly supervise staff to ensure audience safety, among other claims.
The Astros released a statement Tuesday saying, "The Astros are aware of the lawsuit with allegations regarding Orbit's T-shirt launcher. We do not agree with the allegations. The Astros will continue to use fan popular T-shirt launchers during games. As this is an ongoing legal matter, we will have no further comment on this matter."
