Former Giant Mac Williamson sues club over concussion

Former Giants publisher Mac Williamson has filed a lawsuit against the organization in connection with a concussion in 2018 when he hit a bulbous mound in Oracle Park and hit his head against a wall, claiming that the incident was followed by blurred vision and that “my career is over. ”

“My life has not been the same since I was injured,” Williamson said in a statement issued by a public relations firm for San Francisco-based lawyer Randy Erlevine.

The rare action taken by a player against his former team in connection with an injury on the field was reported by China Basin Ballpark Company LLC. The company is controlled by a giant group of giants.

The lawsuit, filed in the High Court in San Francisco, alleges negligence and expects undisclosed actual and punitive damages. It says Williamson was “one of the best power hitters in Major League Baseball” when he was injured. At a Zoom news conference on Tuesday, Erley said Williamson could have earned “millions of dollars” if he had not been injured.

Williamson accused the Giants of maintaining a dangerous risk to the players by keeping the mounds on the field and not moving them to a safe place even after the players were injured.

Peter Magovan, the late owner, apologized to Williamson a few months after the incident. Williamson alleged that Magowan had told him that the Giants had put up mounds on the field when the ballpark was being built, but then-Commissioner Butt Celik did not object.

Williamson acknowledged the danger club after the clash and moved the ridges beyond the center-field fence before the 2020 season. The Giants were one of three teams that had mounds on the field. The Auckland A and Tampa Bay Rays still do.

Williamson appeared at the Zoom news conference and said he was “devastated” to realize that the injury had ended his life. Everyone’s life ends at some point. It was very difficult to deal with taking it from me as the bulb mounds were unnecessarily placed on the field. ”

“Although I will never be complete, my purpose in filing a lawsuit is not only to snatch my life from the park owners, but also to hold them accountable for inadvertently endangering the lives of every great player by placing bulbous mounds on the field,” he said.

Neither Erlevino nor Williamson took the questions.

Giants officials declined to comment, but the panel released a statement to The Chronicle suggesting that Williamson’s case should not be flown because there are other possible solutions for him to pursue.

“The MLP and its clubs have long practically addressed claims arising out of player injuries through collective bargaining and grievance redressal,” the statement said.

“Williamson’s claims are formally resolved through these processes, not through the courts.”

Williamson, 30, was the Giants’ third-round pick in 2012. He introduced his Giants in 2015 and played parts of five seasons in San Francisco, struggling to find a way into the everyday lineup.

Hopes were high as the 2018 season began. Williamson redesigned his swing in the winter under the guidance of Los Angeles-based private instructor Doug Latta. His bat showed promise after a recall on April 20 from Triple-A. He scored three home runs in his first five games.

In his fifth game, against the Nationals on April 24, Williamson scored a tape-sized home run before throwing the home bullpen off the left line, while Bryce Harper chased the wrong ball and suffered a concussion.

Williamson had symptoms of concussion, which he continued almost three years later. He last appeared in the Majors in 2019 and played in 40 games for the Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball League this season.

“The concussion ended my life and left me with injuries for the rest of my life, which has caused a significant number in my personal life as well,” Williamson’s statement read. “I suffer from nausea, sleep problems, mood swings and other problems.

“I hope today is a great day and that I will come closer to how I felt before the injury.”

In a press release, attorney Erlevine said, “Injuries should never have happened, and we believe that the (right) decision to use the bulldozer on the field and then fail to move them endangered his and other players’ lives. ”

Such a case is rare but not without precedent. The former 49-year-old ran behind and won a $ 12.8 million jury verdict against Reggie Bush Rams, who stumbled upon an unrevealed piece of concrete after crossing the line in a 2015 game in St. Louis.