Suit claims injury at hockey game

By Times Staff Writer
Published March 31, 2005

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Amid all the Lightning fever during last spring's Stanley Cup playoffs, a Tampa lawyer says he got a Lightning headache when a fellow spectator threw a hard plastic cup that hit him in the head.

Now he's suing the corporation that runs the St. Pete Times Forum. The lawsuit against Tampa Bay Area Ltd. alleges that during the May 10 Lightning-Philadelphia Flyers playoff game, Mark Rodriguez got clocked by a fan "incited by the repetitive replay of a fight that occurred on the ice."

The unidentified fan threw a plastic souvenir mug from the third level, according to the suit filed by Rodriguez's attorney Scott Jeeves.

"The defendant knew or should have known that the replaying of a vicious play on the ice would promote violent acts," according to the suit, which seeks more than $15,000 in damages.

The suit says the Forum was "having an all-you-can-drink night that caused spectators to become intoxicated."

Rodriguez suffered a cut to his forehead that left a scar, according to the suit.

Jeeves said Wednesday his client doesn't appear to have any lasting injuries, "just a little divot on his forehead."