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Coach suing Little League player for >$600,000 for injury from celebration

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XiaNaphryz

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.
 

Jeff-DSA

Member
Can someone please provide me with the guy's address so I can send someone to beat the piss out of him when he "hobbles" to work tomorrow morning?
 

Koppai

Member
Don't people always record these things? How about some video footage lol.

$600,000 xDD

Yeah he might get his medical bill paid but that's it. "Pain and suffering?" xD
 

Stet

Banned
Maybe this was the kid's helmet:

j4lPacuX5doqd.jpg
 

krae_man

Member
If the kid did recklessly throw his helmet and injure the guy, he should pay the medical bills, but not $500k pain and suffering.
 

depths20XX

Member
The only way I can see a helmet doing that is if the 'bill' part was twirling at a high rate and connected perfectly with the tendon.
 

Nyanko

Neo Member
Even if he has a case (which I highly doubt - how hard would you have to throw a plastic helmet to tear an Achilles tendon?), $600K is an absurd amount to ask.
 
Even if he has a case (which I highly doubt - how hard would you have to throw a plastic helmet to tear an Achilles tendon?), $600K is an absurd amount to ask.

when you see those astronomical numbers like that, they are just general numbers thrown out there to the court so as to not limit the settlement amount when you file a statement of damages with the court. They are generally meaningless.

Generally, cases settle no where even close to the numbers that are thrown out there like that in the statement of damages
 
There is no way the helmet (thrown by a kid especially) could have hit his Achilles' tendon and torn it. I don't care what anyone says.
 
I would say getting hit by a player throwing his helmet is not the same as getting hit by a line drive.

That's not the same, but if you're playing or coaching sports there's always risk of injury involved. I'd feel completely different about it if the kid had purposely thrown his helmet at the coach.

This reminds me of the time I hit a line drive right into the crotch of the other team's pitcher.
 

Machine

Member
when you see those astronomical numbers like that, they are just general numbers thrown out there to the court so as to not limit the settlement amount when you file a statement of damages with the court. They are generally meaningless.

Generally, cases settle no where even close to the numbers that are thrown out there like that in the statement of damages

If people really understood how the process worked, we wouldn't see so many sensationalistic headlines. It's sad really.
 

Skilotonn

xbot xbot xbot xbot xbot
I would have loved to see this because I can't imagine how that managed to happen.

And to add to the comment someone made about signing him immediately, I'd say that the nickname "Achilles Shredder" would be a hell of a nickname to have in the MLB.
 
If people really understood how the process worked, we wouldn't see so many sensationalistic headlines. It's sad really.

yep. I totally get the outrage on this case. it's a shitty case. No idea why the attorney handling it took it.

It will get thrown out with an msj and the world will move on, though the plaintiff will look like an ahole.
 
I love the reporter's reconstruction of events in the video.

OtrmIyx.gif

The defense should use this reenactment footage in the hearing. I wish I were a juror just to laugh at that little league coach for making a mockery of the legal system. The lawyer who took on this case must be really desperate for work.
 

The Cowboy

Member
$500,000 for pain and suffering?, wow.

A number of years ago in my old job the machine I used malfunctioned (a metal chopping guillotine) and it crushed my left thumb, it tore the tendons and crushed part of the bone, I was in hospital for a while and had a cast on around 2 months, after this it pretty much killed my part time DJ career (I did if for a pre-club bar every week) as I couldn't do it for months.

After I took the place I worked for to court and it was confirmed the machine I used hadn't been kept in proper working order, I won just over £5000 total.

So to see someone ask a child for $500,000 just for "pain and suffering" is just amazing and pretty disgusting.
 
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