Eleven-Year-Old Little League Catcher Sued After Errant Throw

By Ben Glass, Esquire

Benjamin W. Glass and Associates

. https://www.benglasslaw.com/

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Eleven-Year-Old Little League Catcher Sued After Errant Throw

Let me start by saying that this type of case would likely never see the light of day in Virginia.

A woman is suing an 11-year-old (at the time) Little League catcher whose errant throw left the bullpen where he was warming up with his pitcher and hit her in the face. Her lawsuit alleges that he deliberately threw the ball at her.

There's actually a great picture on the Internet showing the relatively high fence of the bullpen and the location of the picnic bench where the lady was sitting. It's kind of a dumb place to put a picnic bench.

But think about it it's impossible that he could have thrown a fastball that gets out of the bullpen, over the fence, and then drops down to hit her. If this was deliberate, then some major league scout is on his way over to sign him!

Most likely, it's exactly as the kid described. His throw “back to his pitcher”' got away from him, rose over the fence, and came down, hitting her.

Painful? Yup. Deliberate? Not a chance. Accidental? Most likely. Thus, no negligence. He was 11.

I'm surprised Little League isn't standing up for the kid. News reports say that his parents are worried about the defense costs. It's actually kind of shameful that Little League hasn't stepped forward or that, apparently, they don't have insurance coverage that would at least provide this kid and his family with defense options.

Hopefully, they have homeowner's coverage; that should at least provide coverage to launch a defense. It likely would not provide coverage if the woman suing proves that his act was deliberate. As the facts about the woman and the case continue to come out, it seems more likely that the suit will end up going nowhere but that doesn't take away from the fact that it puts an unnecessary burden on the court system and continues to hurt the image of a justice system that rarely gets publicity for all the good it does.