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LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
www.kcra.com/news/14yearold-little-...in/-/11797728/23930366/-/uq41khz/-/index.html
Paris said his son was racing toward home plate to score the winning run during a Lakeside Little League game last spring when the boy threw off his helmet in celebration.
"He was so excited," Paris said.
In legal papers filed in court, the teen's former coach, Alan Beck, contends the boy "carelessly threw a helmet, striking Plaintiff's Achilles tendon and tearing it."
The legal filings show Beck is seeking $500,000 for pain and suffering, and more than $100,000 for lost wages and medical bills.
When contacted at his home, Beck declined to answer questions regarding his legal filing.
"I cannot comment until my attorney says it's OK," Beck said.
However, Beck's attorney returned a phone on Wednesday morning.
"I don't think the boy meant to harm him," said Gene Goldsman, Beck's Santa Ana attorney. "But, this wasn't a part of the game. A guy who volunteers his time to coach should not be subjected to someone who throws a helmet in the manner that he did. What the kid did, it crossed the line."
Bill Portanova, a legal expert in Sacramento, told KCRA 3 that California law does allow children to be sued for their actions.
However, he said on a baseball field where there is an inherent risk of flying baseballs, bats and even helmets in the course of every game, proving the boy intended to injure, or knew his actions could cause injury, could be difficult.
"If he deliberately hurt somebody, then it's a stronger case and a stronger case that his parents could be held liable, but kids playing a kids' game in a contact sport -- and baseball is a contact sport -- that's going to be a tougher case," Portanova said.