Danny Colgate (not his real name) was attending an east coast university on an athletic scholarship. During a pickup softball game, as he sprinted to first base many of the cleats broke away from the soles of the sport shoes that he was wearing and he fell violently to the ground. As a result of his fall, Danny sustained severe and disabling injuries. His scholarship was withdrawn.

The base of one of the shoes that Danny was wearing is illustrated in the images below.

Click to enlarge

Danny's teammates reported seeing rubber cleats on the ground and grass along the first base line.

Detailed inspection revealed the presence of excessively large inclusions of filler materials throughout the molded cleats and base.