John Danks Sued For Not Calling 911 After Friend Fell From His Rooftop Deck
By Chuck Sudo in News on Aug 30, 2012 3:30PM
John Danks in what is easily the high water mark of his career: the 2008 "blackout" game against Minnesota that clinched the AL Central. (Chuck Sudo/Chicagoist)
White Sox pitcher John Danks can’t wait for 2012 to end. He pitched poorly in a season that was supposed to be a breakthrough for him before a shoulder injury and surgery shelved him for the year. Now he's being sued by a former friend who claims he acted negligently after a 2010 accident.
According to a lawsuit filed Aug. 14 in Cook County Circuit Court, Danks missed another opportunity to be a stopper. Blake Papst, a high school classmate and former friend of Danks, alleges the pitcher failed to call 911 after an accident two years ago at his Chicago condo.
The suit alleges that Papst stood on a concrete structure that rose about 10 feet above Danks’ rooftop deck. While he was standing, Papst’s brother pushed him on the concrete structure, causing Papst to fall to the rooftop deck, rending him unable to move. The suit alleges Danks assessed Papst’s level of consciousness and breathing, but didn’t call 911. Papst is accusing Danks of being negligent for failing to call 911, withholding Papst’s cell phone and moving Papst to another room without knowing how that would affect his physical condition.
If that’s true, that’s some “Landry kills Tyra’s assailant and dumps the body in the river on Friday Night Lights” shit: a monumental lapse in judgment. Papst is now a paraplegic, according to his attorney Tim Rhatigan. Papst’s brother Waylon is also named as a defendant in the suit. He’s accused of being the one who pushed Blake Papst and moved him after the fall.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages but we can assume Papst is looking for a sizeable chunk of the five year, $65 million contract Danks signed in the offseason.