Last week, Romanucci & Blandin filed a lawsuit on behalf of Robert F. and Cheryl L. Schutter, parents of Jake R. Schutter, age 11, against Easton Sports, Inc., d/b/a Easton-Bell Sports, Inc. Our client, an 11-year-old boy, suffered hearing loss as a result of being struck in the head by a baseball hit by an Easton Sports’ aluminum baseball bat.

In the lawsuit, we alleged that the bat was unreasonably dangerous because of the “trampoline” effect these bats are designed to create. The lawsuit generated quite a response in the blogosphere. Some of the comments were supportive: “Metal bats are a classic example of profits over kids’ safety.”

Other comments: “This type of lawsuit is what’s wrong with America.” Really?

In an age where children have asthma, cancer and autism from unregulated pollutants and chemicals. Really? In an era where corporations can give unlimited sums of money to politicians to remove regulations. Really? In an era where big businesses put profits over safety and take American jobs to third-world countries. Really? Some people really believe that the problem with America is that lawyers stand up for the rights of families and children.

To the contrary, lawsuits standing up for children’s rights are what’s right with America. It may well be that a jury determines that the metal bats at issue are not unreasonably dangerous and attempts the argument that a certain number of children with brain injuries, hearing loss, blindness and even death, are an accepted cost of being able to hit a baseball harder and further than you can with a wooden bat. However, a jury may determine that these are not accepted risks.

In an era when unregulated markets have led to polluted air, water, and food, and to global economic collapse, some people – inexplicably – believe that victims’ rights are the problem.