Dustin Fowler, former Yankees outfielder, sues White Sox, ballpark agency over season-ending injury

Former New York Yankees outfielder Dustin Fowler is suing the Chicago White Sox and the agency that manages their ballpark, Guaranteed Rate Field, after suffering a serious knee injury there June 29, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Fowler, playing right field in his first major league game, was chasing after a ball in foul territory when he collided with the wall at knee level and flipped. He tried to walk, but immediately went to the ground. 

Fowler, now an outfielder with the Oakland A’s, missed the rest of the season after knee surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon and has suffered “severe and permanent” internal and external injuries, according to the lawsuit.

The White Sox and the Illinois Sports Facilities acted negligently because they didn’t pad the exposed electrical box, and at knee level, it was a “hidden and undetectable hazard,” the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court alleges, according to the Sun-Times. Both parties knew it was unsafe and had time to fix it.

The lawsuit also says that Fowler needed to spend “large sums of money” for medical care.

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