Parents sue LL for 1,000,000 after son hit in face while pitching.

[PEPPERS]

LEAGUE CITY, Texas -- The parents of a local Little League pitcher have filed a million-dollar lawsuit after their son was hit in the face during a line drive by a player who they claim used an unlicensed and illegal bat.

Emmett Parsutt Jr., 12, played for the Santa Fe All- Stars. He said it happened so fast.

“I thought I was throwing a good game,” Parsutt Jr. said. “They just kept hitting it and then I took the line drive.”

He was hit in the head during a district championship game against a League City team on July 1.

He fell to the ground and was eventually taken off the field on a stretcher.

His father Emmett Parsutt Sr. watched it happen.

“I didn’t know how severe his injury was, so I was just by his side,” Parsutt Sr. said.

The family is now suing both League City Little League and Little League Baseball for more than a million dollars.

A Little League official told KHOU the bat in question was sent to League headquarters in Williamsport, PA.

It was determined and confirmed by the manufacturer the bat had not been altered in any way.

The family’s attorney, Charles McMillan, suspects foul play

“We know Little League International has done an investigation on a bat. We just don't know what bat it was,” McMillan said.

Bryan Alexander, the manager of Emmett's team, wonders the same thing.

He said several people saw a parent from the opposing team take the bat from the field and lock it in the trunk of a car, shortly after Emmett was hit.

“The umpire, when I was walking around, said something sounds funny on the bat they're using, the ball is coming off really, really different,” said Alexander. “We started noticing everyone on the team was using the same bat.”

The president of League City Little League said the bat had been used all season long with no questions.

Emmett said he still has eye twitches and headaches.

He will have to sit out the rest of the season.

“It's hard,” Parsutt Jr. said. “I can't play sports for six months. That's all I do is play sports.”

Little League International had no comment on the lawsuit.

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Parents sue Little League for $1M after son hurt by line drive | khou.com Houston

Concern arose prior to the start of the championship game over one of the League City All-star team's metal bats," the lawsuit states. "Fans, parents, and coaches expressed their opinions to the umpires that League City All-stars were using an unlicensed bat."

Following protocol, the umpire looked over the bat and deemed it fit for play, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also alleges that the bat was quickly whisked away by a parent from the opposing team.

"While Santa Fe parents and coaches rushed to Emmett's aide, a parent (non-coach) of one of the League City All-stars came out of the stands and onto the field to retrieve the allegedly altered bat," the lawsuit states. "The parent then took the bat, walked to the parking lot, and locked it in his car."

When people demanded to see the bat, the parent allegedly refused and Texas City Police were called. The bat remained with the League City team and a bat was sent off for testing, according to the lawsuit.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-parents-sue-league-1m-son-hit-line/story?id=19698974

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

Anything can happen on the field:


Baseball hits, kills 8-year-old boy | WDTN.com

 

[TimothyJ]

I don't think the lawsuit will go anywhere, being the bat was removed and they'll struggle to prove it was illegal/altered.

Shame on the parents of the batter if it was a shaved bat. Too bad for the kid that got hurt, hope he's able to get back to normal health

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I goofed up trying to merge 2 posts. Sorry.

It was only a matter of time...
Parents sue Little League for $1M after son hit by line drive from 'illegal' baseball bat - NY Daily News

The bat sounded funny. Everyone used the same bat. The bat was taken to someone's trunk immediately. But, LL found nothing wrong with the bat. I wish the article would have told what bat it was.

Someone knows something about the bat. There is more to this story.

My nephew lives in League City, but it is probably fairly large. It is south of Houston.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Why in the world does LL not have all players sign a waiver that the org is NOT responsible for individual's who alter bats etc? Let them sue the person who is responsible.

 

[marriard]

Why in the world does LL not have all players sign a waiver that the org is NOT responsible for individual's who alter bats etc? Let them sue the person who is responsible.

Well they basically do. LL (for all it's fault) do a very good job of protecting their assets (because they have assets to protect). This will end up going nowhere in the end. LL has a fair amount of experience is this.

Basically people sue LL because their lawyer recognizes that they have actual assets to go after (versus other team, players, local orgs, etc). LL recognizes this so they protect themselves extremely well.

 

[PEPPERS]

From Fox New.

http://www.foxnews.com/topics/baseball/little-league.htm

 

[ms244]

It is cases like this that will force players to wear masks. I am a believer that it is up to the parent/player on wearing a mask. But when stupid lawsuits like this come out, and if it goes somewhere in the courts, it will put more pressure on LL, ASA, USSSA, etc to mandate the players to wear masks.

So lets say that the bat comes back and it hasn't been altered at all. That all players used the same bat because it had a "cool logo" or something. Is that going to make the parents of the injured kid feel better? Then where will they go to get a resolution to their problem? When parents put a $1 million dollar amount on a lawsuit, they are seeking more than just answers to their problem. IMO.

Sad situation that won't have a happy ending for the parents.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

It isn't just LL, but any league that doesn't check and enforce the bat regs is looking for trouble. I hope everything ends well, in this case. But adults do not normly grab the bat and put it in the trunk, unless something is wrong.

Locally in LL softball, I have tried to tell the powers that be that a certain little 10 yo cannot use the baseball bat that she uses. They ignore me.

 

[canyonjoe]

You can't sign away your rights to a lawsuit although it makes it much harder. I really hope the bat was legal. Anyone who knowingly allows his kid to use a shaved or rolled bat has no business being near youth sports. Was that extra home run really worth what can happen to the defense.