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<p>Probably because some parents told them doing so was a waste of money. Or the school didn’t have the money to do it anyway since the schools are on extremely tight budgets already!</p>
<p>I have seen cars parked hit by our baseball field and I’ve seen cars that were driving along the road that have been hit. Not once have I seen the school pay for it.</p>
<p>“Why should the loss fall on the person who had no ability to prevent it, instead of the one (the school) which did?”</p>
<p>But he did have the ability to prevent it; he could have moved the car to a different location.</p>
<p>Both my boys played baseball, and I guess I assumed everyone knows they assume some risk by parking near a ballfield. If I were assigned a spot by the ballfield I’d ask for another spot. The issue of a broken window CAN be anticipated.</p>
<p>Students at our school are assigned spots and can’t ask for a different one.</p>
<p>I parked in my daughters school parking lot for 5 minutes while I ran up and slid something underneath the door of the counselors office. School was out-she was in an after school class & soccer practice was going on in an adjacent field- the parking lot was full.</p>
<p>However apparently no security in lot because it was after school hours, & my car was broken into ( driver window smashed). My deductible was too high for insurance to kick in to cover damage, neither school nor district ever acknowledged incident other than to imply I should have know that it was a high crime area.</p>
<p>Well I know now. :(</p>
<p>I think parking by a ballfield and having a window broken is one of those live and learn experiences, I sure would have rather my car experience an accidental breakage by a ball, rather than a criminal breakage and have more loss than the cost of a window.</p>
<p>Our school has designated parking places also, but they don’t apply after school hours. People are allowed to park anywhere they want after 3:00, whether or not the space has someone’s name on it. Kids move their cars around the parking lots all the time after school, in the evenings, and on weekends- to get a better location, to be near the field they are practicing in or watching a game at, to keep from getting hit by a baseball.</p>
<p>The batter should be arrested for suspected assault with a deadly weapon, destrcution of property, convicted, and subject to capital punishment.</p>
<p>That’ll teach 'em.</p>
<p>doubleplay, that’s a good point and moving the car after class may be the best option. I do wonder, though, at our school, these same fields are used for ball games and such for gym classes during the school day and so conceivably the same accident could occur with parked cars.</p>
<p>Mini…not sure I get the point of your post. It is obvious the batter did not do anything intentionally, nor was negligent. It was an accident. The issue is in an accident, who pays for the damages.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses, all. No offense taken at any reactions (Well, mini’s *is *rather odd.) 
- if this is the biggest problem we have to deal with, I am very grateful.</p>
<p>No decision yet from the school, other than that the Principal e-mailed my son last night saying, “(Kid name), Regrets that this happened. Let me look into it and I will get back to you.
Thanks” </p>
<p>That’s a reasonable response IMO. I am glad that son was proactive and spoke with the coach on the spot and dealt with the school himself right away. </p>
<p>Meanwhile I checked with our insurer who said it would be covered under comprehensive but our deductible is $500. They suggested we could contact the school and see what the response might be.</p>
<p>We are not upset about this; mainly glad nobody was injured. (After all, the ball could have hit a car with a driver in it! Or it could have hit a kid in the head!) The car will sit in the lot until this is resolved.</p>
<p>By the way, there is a fence but it is low (only about four feet). Son’s car was parked about 150 feet from the fence. It must have been some powerful hit!!</p>
<p>May** all **our vehicular accidents be of such a relatively minor nature! :)</p>
<p>P.S. We had every intention of disposing of the car (which is a very old vehicle we just kept around as an extra car - almost as old as son!) once S left for college. We may just donate it to the school lot at this point LOL! ;)</p>
<p>“Mini…not sure I get the point of your post. It is obvious the batter did not do anything intentionally, nor was negligent. It was an accident. The issue is in an accident, who pays for the damages.”</p>
<p>Why is it an “accident” if it is logical, predictable, likely happened before, and could be prevented simply by putting up a net?</p>
<p>Yea; and society is the problem with all our children. God forbid people should be accountable for their own actions and realize the difference between an accident and intent. When I was in high school, I was playing football on the practice field. The night before, some kids had broken a bottle on the field; not intentionally trying to hurt anyone. I landed on the broken glass and cut up my knee pretty good. (30 stitches). I didn’t SUE the school. I went to the doctor and got stitched up. Yes, there are some that would sue the school. They are the same people that sue if a dog poops in their yard.</p>
<p>Sorry Kluge; but the school is NOT at fault. Now, is that to say that the school, school board, PTA, district, etc… can’t learn from this; just like I advocate people learn from life’s experiences. Yes, they can learn. Maybe they put up signs that say that parking in a certain section of the parking lot after 4pm is subject to athletic hazards. Maybe the school allow free and open parking after classes are done for the day. There are a lot of lessons that can be learned here. But to want to place blame on anyone because of an accident is pure B.S. and is stupid. Unless you can prove that when the school was designed, that they intentionally saw the problem and purposely said; “Too bad if the cars get hit with a ball”; then it’s called an ACCIDENT. In the true sense of the word, an accident is unforeseen and therefor couldn’t be prevented. (Don’t compare this to an automobile ACCIDENT. Those are active and as such are not unforeseen). </p>
<p>Anyway, stop throwing blame on everyone else and society. Life isn’t perfect. Stuff happens. It’s called “EXPERIENCE”. My question to the OP would be; how many other windows and hoods have been dented in the past from baseballs??? If this is the first; then DUH!!! If this is the 10th one in a month, then again, something needs to be fixed. That doesn’t mean damages sought for the school to pay out. It means posting signs or whatever.</p>
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<p>First, I said it was an accident in response to your sarcasm over people thinking the batter did it intentionally which he did not. He wasn’t at fault. I referred to his actions as unintentional and used the word “accident” in meaning he was not negligent or purposeful in having his ball hit a car. He is not at fault. You made some sarcastic remarks about the batter and so I responded about his end of the matter. </p>
<p>But yes, it COULD be prevented by putting up a net, as you say! Now, I have read the OP state that actually a four foot fence was erected which implies the school realized this could be a problem with where their parking lots are located and designed and built something to avoid it, although obviously it was not high enough. </p>
<p>I would be very pleased with the principal’s response (so far) that he would look into it. That’s all I would want and what happens happens and it may be tough luck but I do think it was worth asking about. It seems to me that that is the stance that the OP’s son is taking. And if this is an ongoing problem at school, get the word out to “beware” if your spot is near the fields, as this may happen and you have to pay for it if it does.</p>
<p>I’ll add that I thought that some responses that implied that the boy who parked the car was at fault or stupid for parking there were not warranted. He may have had to park there. In any case, in my view, it was bad luck and he may have to pay for the damages but he is not to blame. It would be nice if the school would pay and is worth asking about. They don’t plan to make a fuss over it! Also, some awareness may be raised to either not park your car there if you can get around doing so, or that the school may wish to consider adding higher netting.</p>
<p>Actually my guess is that the fence is there more to keep people OUT rather than to keep balls IN. If it were intended to keep balls in, then whoever designed it needs to be fired!</p>
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<p>Apparently you haven’t priced a “simple net” recently.</p>
<p>It was also noted the vehicle was quite some distance away… 150 feet from the fence and I’d guess that 4-foot fence was at least some distance away from homeplate…</p>
<p>Christcorp- Your post made me laugh. I understand the whole “accountability” thing, but this truly is an accident. Insurance is purchased for “accidents” and things that might happen on one’s premises. There is a good chance that the school’s insurance won’t cover this- but it might. This is probably what the principal is checking.<br>
I have a lot of experience with the whole “lack of accountability” thing, having done product liability defense work for many years. This is simply not the same kind of situation. This is a case of economic loss due to an accident and a question of who gets to bear this loss. It might very well be the vehicle owner, but there is nothing wrong with exploring other avenues.</p>
<p>Sure, this was an accident. One of the points of insurance is to spread the risks of accidents around. In this case, the question is whose insurance company should pay. It seems to me that the risk was primarily imposed by the activity at the school–baseball. Surely everybody would agree with this if the car was driving by on the street outside?</p>
<p>Hunt, I agree. I imagine the principal is looking into who is liable for damages in this accident. Same might happen had the ball hit a bystander in the lot or someone driving by. In my view, it was worth the OP looking into this. They are not fighting it but merely finding out.</p>
<p>
I’m sure you missed the irony of your posting this after starting off with
… but I didn’t. I’m not “throwing the blame on society” for this damage - I’m “throwing” it on the people whose decisions allowed it to happen. Designing a school facility is an action. If you design it in such a way that people will suffer damage (or injuries) you should be accountable for your actions. I’ve met with architects involved in laying out recreational facilities in parks - they aren’t as clueless about the danger zone inherent in facilities designed for different sports as you seem to think. So, yeah, if an architect laid out a baseball field adjacent to a parking lot (or other public place) without taking into consideration the various ways that baseballs can be predicted to fly out of that location, and design accordingly, I think he and the school district which hired him should be accountable for that design. </p>
<p>I find it fascinating that there is such a bias against the person who got hurt or had his property damaged - that it’s presumed to be “his fault” and his responsibility to bear that loss, even if the discretionary decisions or actions of someone else could have prevented it.</p>
<p>Now, I don’t know all the facts behind this situation (any more than anyone else other than the OP.) It’s possible that there were good reasons for putting the fields and the parking lot where they were, and good reasons for not putting some form of effective barrier between the two. Or it might have just been a decision that making a few student’s families fork out several hundred bucks every year was preferable to the school board taking the steps necessary to solve the problem. If so, that’s a cost-benefit analysis (on the school’s part) which may pencil out in this case - but as has been noted, the same scenario could have resulted in a serious injury, or even death. If so, the balance might be viewed differently.</p>
<p>By the way, Christcorp - do you honestly think that the kids who broke that bottle (and apparently didn’t pick it up) should not have had to reimburse you for your medical bills? Why not? Why shouldn’t they be accountable for their actions? Because they “weren’t intentionally trying to hurt anyone?” I don’t buy that. Their actions were wrong; you got injured because of their actions. They should pay the cost of that injury, not you.</p>
<p>I don’t know of many- actually any- high schools that allow students to play baseball during school hours (PE time). Softball, maybe. Baseball is just too dangerous, the ball moves too fast, and it requires safety gear. </p>
<p>I think it is a good idea to post warning signs around the field, or warn students/parents somehow, although I don’t recall this ever being done in all the years we watched our kids play. Mostly we just knew where it was “safe” to park. Maybe people who aren’t familiar with the game of baseball don’t know. Even non-foul balls can hit cars (homeruns). People shouldn’t park within a certain range of the field, unless they like ball dents.</p>
<p>there are many things in this world that are poorly designed.
We wouldn’t have so many injuries from carpal tunnel if tools took into account repetitive motion ( or at least work requirements)
Designing a ball field and not allowing for fencing and netting in the budget, was poor planning as are these ditches, that are everywhere & without night lighting, my daughter was not the only one who fell into one.
<a href=“http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/cgsd/images/ditch.JPG[/url]”>http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/cgsd/images/ditch.JPG</a></p>
<p>It’s poor design to have a bottle made of breakable materials contain something children consume and it’s atrocious design to have virtually everything sold at Costco encased in nuclear strenght plastic so you need a hacksaw to open it…</p>
<p>We are surround by products and ideas that don’t take into account every possible potential result.
Let the buyer beware- or whatchagonnado?</p>
<p>Insurance is weighing risks- and as I have illustrated just taking your car in the proximity of a high school, is to bear some risk.
We have to gauge the likeliness of the risk ourselves- and I think it is up to us to gather the information needed to decide if the risk is worth taking.</p>
<p>No Kluge; I don’t think the kids who broke the bottles should have reimbursed my parents for my medical bills. Why? Because that is life. It isn’t perfect and it’s not suppose to be. I also come from the old school where if a person caused an accident to another person, you said you were sorry; you offered to pay; and most of the time you just let it go. Recently, we had a pretty big wind storm. My neighbor’s fence which is a 6 ft 4x4 posts and 2x4 cross members, fell because of the wind. It hit the side of my truck. It put a couple of small dents in the fender and roughed up some of the paint. OH WELL!!! I helped my neighbor put the fence back up and made it secure again. He offered to pay for my truck. Of course, I said “No, don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it”. That’s the way life use to be. That’s the way life SHOULD BE. Anything different is totally self centered on both parties part. It’s that change in attitude that has made this country the way it is with lawsuits, high insurance rates, etc… </p>
<p>I am so glad that I live in a state where the word NEIGHBOR actually means something. Where a handshake and a person’s word still means something. I was born and raised in the New York city area until I turned 18. I know the difference then and now. I’m sorry that most of you live in an environment where your answer to everything is the legal system. The only purpose of the legal system is because 2 or more people can’t agree on a resolution. Fortunately for me, that isn’t a major need in my town. Yes it is needed sometimes; just not for the NORMAL Stuff Happens world. My wife is a lawyer, and as such I understand the law. Most of her cases are non-criminal cases. They include malpractice and civil cases. There is definitely a time for that. This isn’t one of them. Spit out the couple hundred dollars and fix the stupid windshield. If you have coverage on your insurance, then use it if you want to. If not, then just pay it. Work with the school to make sure that in the future, those parking cars KNOW THE RISK. Other than that, there isn’t anything else to discuss. Anything else is self centered. </p>
<p>I am not saying that it’s the kid’s fault. My point is that it ISN’T ANYONE’S FAULT. I already said that. No one is saying the kid is at fault. Why must you insist that it’s the school’s fault and they should pay. Typical theory; redistribution of wealth. Take money away from one person and give it to another. When the school pays, that means your neighbor and others pay. School money is tax money. If the kid wants to make a difference; get permission to paint a certain section of the parking lot pink, red, orange, or some other noticeable color. Put up a sign that says that after school hours, parking in the painted area is considered the “DMZ”. It could be hazardous to one’s health. Park here at your own risk. There’s a lot of things the students and parents can do to HELP MAKE THE SCHOOL AREA BETTER instead of looking for the school to PAY MONETARY damages.</p>
<p>But to clarify; if someone got a drink of water from the water fountain and some water splashed on the floor, and my son slipped and broke his leg, NO I WOULDN’T SUE OR LOOK FOR THE SCHOOL TO PAY THE MEDICAL. If my son got hurt playing football; NO I WOULDN’T BE LOOKING FOR LIABILITY OR NEGLIGENCE. If the cafeteria got a bad bunch of dairy products in and my son got sick; NO I WOULDN’T BE LOOKING TO TAKE THEM TO COURT. On all these examples; after my son got repaired; I would be finding ways to help the school make sure it wouldn’t happen again. TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY. I am a shareholder in the school. I own stock (Taxes). For me to go after the school; other than for criminal or negligence cases; is for me to go after the other shareholders (Neighbors and other tax payers). That doesn’t help the situation and it’s that much more money that can’t be spent in educating my children. I won’t do it to the school. I won’t do it to my neighbors. I won’t do it to the city. (Got hurt at the park). Etc… Welcome to life. If you don’t like it, then get a plastic bubble and live inside of it.</p>
![http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/cgsd/images/ditch.JPG[/url]](http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/cgsd/images/ditch.JPG%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
