2 Investigators: Cubs Fan Blind In One Eye After Foul Ball Accident
(CBS) -- "It was excruciating pain," Cubs fan Jay Loos recalls.
The 60-year-old Schaumburg father suffered broken facial bones around his left eye and a broken nose at an August Cubs game.
Loos, his two sons and daughter were sitting along the first base line at Wrigley Field when a Pittsburgh Pirates batter slammed a foul ball into section 135, Seat 107 – and into Loos's face.
"I've had three surgeries," he tells 2 Investigator Dave Savini.
Loos says he can't see out of the injured eye, and now doctors are concerned about a syndrome that could cause him to go completely blind.
"Every day, every morning I wake up, I'm going to be worrying about this 'sympathetic eye syndrome' and did I just see my last sunset?" he says.
Loos says a lack of complete protective netting at Wrigley Field and other major-league ballparks puts fans in danger, especially around the dugouts.
Just weeks after he was hit, a child was struck. It happened at Yankee Stadium, when a girl was hit in the face by a foul ball. She reportedly suffered facial fractures, vision damage and bleeding on the brain.
A young boy in May was hit by a bat, also in New York, and back at Wrigley, another foul ball victim was struck in 2015.
Reports show as many as 1,700 fans get injured at ball parks every year.
Loos's daughter, Emma, had stepped away from the seat and was scared when she returned to find her father covered in blood.
"The only thing I could think of was, 'I can't lose my dad, too.' I lose my mom eight years ago, and that's my biggest fear is losing my dad, too."
The danger is not just at baseball stadiums.
Three years ago, the 2 investigators reported on Blackhawks fan Chip Green from Yorkville. He was hit in the head by a puck and suffered brain damage.
Green is suing the NHL.
Loos, meanwhile, has hired attorney Colin Dunn from Clifford Law Offices. He wants Major League Baseball to expand netting past the dugouts to protect anyone in what he calls a "hot zone" where a foul ball can strike at incredible speed.
Loos faces at least one more surgery and more waiting to find out how much vision loss he will suffer.
Dunn, who also represents Chip Green, says he is planning to file suit.
In a statement, the Cubs had this to say: "Fan safety is paramount to the gameday experience at Wrigley Field. We will continue to work with Major League Baseball to explore ways to ensure our fans enjoy baseball in the safest possible environment."
According to the MLB, 10 baseball clubs, none in Chicago, have netting that goes past the dugouts. Netting decisions are made by each club, not the league.
