Barbella’s seat
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – A New Jersey woman is suing after she was hit in the face with a foul ball at a game in Williamsport, Pa.
Deborah Barbella blames a faulty net that was supposed to protect her while watching the Williamsport Crosscutters, a team in the MLB Draft League that plays its home games at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field.
The City of Williamsport knew the netting was subpar, a lawsuit filed last week in the Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas says. It also names the team and Major League Baseball as defendants.
Attorneys at Morgan & Morgan included the minutes of a Feb. 13, 2025, Williamsport City Council meeting that acknowledged the need for new netting.
“However, the defendants failed to make the requisite changes to the field’s netting system,” the suit says.
Barbella was hit three months after the meeting, allegedly causing injuries. In between those two events, Brix Design Group was awarded the contract to replace the netting but never started, causing the City to reopen bidding.
The council called for a temporary fix for the 2025 season and planned for a new, permanent net after. Barbella sat on the first-base side of the field, behind a section of net lower than the canopy behind home plate.
A foul ball came through the netting in front of her and struck the left side of her face, Barbella says, alleging it was “unsafe, too short, full of gaps, dangerous and in violation of MLB standards.”
The suit alleges a broken jaw, orbital floor and nose that required surgery and a metal implant. Barbella had injuries to her eye and a concussion, the suit says.
Joseph Swist represents the plaintiff. Personal-injury lawyers had a hand in the popularization of nets at ballparks, with a 2015 class action lawsuit by Hagens Berman leading teams to install protections for fans.
