Texas football fan sues Cowboys over burn injury

A Dallas Cowboys fan has sued the team and its owner/general manager following a recent injury sustained during a game. The female fan attended the team’s annual Blue and Silver scrimmage game in Aug. 2010, and claims that she was seriously burned during the outing. A Texas court will now decide if the team and its management should be held responsible for her burn injury.

Temperatures on the day of the event topped 100 degrees. The woman alleges that she sat down on a bench outside the stadium shortly before the game. The bench was made of black marble, and the suit claims that the combination of the materials and the extreme heat created a hazard. The woman allegedly sustained third-degree burns from sitting on the bench.

As a result of the injury, the football fan ended up having to undergo skin grafts to repair the damage. The lawsuit claims that the stadium did nothing to cover the bench. Nor did they post signs warning fans that the surface was or could become dangerously hot.

The lawsuit claims that the woman has suffered a range of issues as a result of the burn injury, including mental anguish, disfigurement and significant physical pain. The suit asks for a jury trial in the matter, and also seeks unspecified damages and court fees. As this case makes its way through the legal process in Texas, an important precedent may be set in regard to the responsibility of a sports team to prevent similar injuries and to inform their fans of the potential for harm while at a sporting event.

Source: ESPN Dallas, “Burned fan sues Cowboys,” Aug. 16, 2012