Houston parents file $1 million lawsuit against Little League after son is hit in head by line drive
Parents of a Houston area Little League baseball player have cast their son directly into the spotlight after they filed a $1 million lawsuit against the local league when their son was struck in the face by a line drive that was hit by a league opponent the parents believe was using an unlicensed and illegal bat.
As first reported by the Galveston County Daily News and picked up on by Houston CBS affiliate KHOU, Santa Fe (Texas) Little League parent Emmett Parsutt Sr. filed suit asking for $1 million in compensation from League City (Texas) Little League, whose team Parsutt Sr.’s son, Emmett Parsutt Jr., was competing against, and Little League International. Parsutt Jr. is a 12-year-old pitcher for Santa Fe (Texas) Little League and was on the mound when he was struck in the head by a line drive off a League City bat.
Parsutt Sr. rushed to his son’s side and stayed there while medics cared for him and eventually carried him off on a stretcher.
The injury sent Parsutt Jr. to a local hospital, where he was diagnosed with a severe concussion. The 12-year-old claims that he still suffers from eye twitches and persistent headaches, and will be forced to sit out from all sports action for six months while he recovers from his injuries.
In the meantime, his parents and Santa Fe Little League officials claim that the bat used to hit the ball that struck Parsutt Jr. never should have been allowed on the field. According to Santa Fe Little League All-Star manager Bryan Alexander, the umpire working the game told him that the bat being used seemed different and might have been worth further inspection.
“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.”
Yet, Alexander and other Santa Fe parents claim the suspicious bat was quickly hidden in the trunk of a car after Parsutt Jr. was struck with the line drive. League City officials then sent a bat to be inspected by Little League International officials, and that bat was cleared.
The issue is whether the bat that was sent to Williamsport was the same bat that contributed to Parsutt Jr.’s injury.
“We know Little League International has done an investigation on a bat. We just don't know what bat it was,” Parsutt family attorney Charles McMillan told KHOU.
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