Football
Associated Press 17y

Mets fan whose back was broken at ballpark files lawsuit

NEW YORK -- A New York Mets fan has filed suit, contending a
drunken, 300-pound man fell on her during the home opener at Shea
Stadium and broke her back.

Ellen Massey, a 58-year-old Manhattan lawyer, sued the team, the
beer concession, the union that represents the security guards at
the ballpark and "John Doe," the unidentified man who toppled on
her.

Massey had surgery for spinal injuries and was hospitalized for
about two weeks, said her lawyer, Stephen Kaufman. Doctors put rods
and screws in her back and will have to operate on her again, he
said.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in Manhattan's state Supreme Court,
seeks unspecified money damages.

"We believe the claim has no merit," the Mets said in a
statement.

Massey said that on April 9 she was in the second row of the
right field upper deck near a "visibly intoxicated" man who was
"acting in a rowdy, boisterous and dangerous manner for a long
period of time."

The man, who has not been found or identified, later "fell upon
plaintiff causing her to sustain severe personal injuries," court
papers said.

"He got up and left," apparently uninjured, Kaufman said. "We
have information that one of the security people might have spoken
to him and let him leave."

Two emergency medical technicians sitting directly in front of
Massey gave her first aid and comforted her until an ambulance
arrived, Kaufman said.

The incident occurred between the sixth and seventh innings with
the Mets trailing Philadelphia 5-3. The Mets rallied to win 11-5.

Along with Sterling Mets L.P., the owner of the team, Massey
sued Philadelphia-based Aramark Corp. and the Service Employees
International Union Local 177.

Aramark said it was reviewing the complaint.

"We continue to work closely with the Mets and stadium security
personnel in investigating this incident," spokeswoman Kristine
Grow said.

There was no answer at Local 177's headquarters in Brooklyn.

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