Wednesday, October 21, 1998 
  
 

Girl wins $1 million from Tigers 

10-year-old says broken bat injured her hand at stadium

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / The Detroit News Alyssia Benejam says she can't bend her fingertips since being hit by a bat.

By Fred Girard / The Detroit News 

  
    WEST BLOOMFIELD -- A West Bloomfield fifth-grader whose hand was injured by a broken bat in a 1994 game at Tiger Stadium won a $1-million award against the team Tuesday. 
    Alyssia Benejam, 10, and her parents told a Wayne Circuit Court jury that the Tigers have been negligent in protecting people from being injured at Tiger Stadium. 
    "I think the Tigers were afraid for me to win, because a lot of people were getting hurt," said the youngster, who was 6 when the bat of Texas' Jose Canseco shattered. 
    The Benejams' attorney, James O. Elliott of Bloomfield Hills, said he documented 84 incidents of fans being injured by balls or broken bats at Tiger Stadium in a 2 1/2-year period. 
  

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Article courtesy of The Detroit News