By KATHIANNE BONIELLO
Posted: 3:44 am
July 6, 2008
A Mets fan has put the city on notice that he intends to file a $5.5 million lawsuit for a Aug. 8, 2007, flying-bat incident at Shea Stadium that left him with broken teeth, facial fractures and a split palate.
James Falzon, 48, was in the second row - along the third-base line with his dad, 11-year-old son and 9-year-old nephew - watching the Mets play the Atlanta Braves on an annual family outing to Shea.
As Mets second baseman Luis Castillo smacked a seventh-inning fly ball, his bat shattered and shards flew into the seats.
I was watching the ball," Falzon said, "and [the shards] hit me in the face. It knocked me off my chair."
The disfiguring injuries left him with massive bleeding, extensive hospital care and permanent metal plates and pins, he said.
"It broke my whole face," Falzon said.
Shea Stadium, owned by the city, has netting up to protect those sitting behind home plate. Falzon contends in Queens Supreme Court papers that there should be netting to protect other sections of seating as well.
