Boy Hit By Line Drive From Metal Bat During Little League Game Gets $14.5M Settlement
A $14.5 million settlement has been reached in a tort case over a Little League game that left a young pitcher brain-injured after he was struck by a line drive hit from a metal bat.
As a trial was looming in the Passaic County, N.J., case, the defendants, including the manufacturer of the Louisville Slugger bat, the retailer that sold it and Little League Baseball, agreed to the settlement with those representing Steven Domalewski, reports the Record.
He was 12 when he was hit in the chest by a batted ball in 2006. It reportedly stopped his heart and left him with severe brain damage due to oxygen deprivation. The settlement is expected to cover the care that Domalewski, who is now 18, will need for the rest of his life.
An earlier story in the Record provides additional details about the case. It says the lawsuit filed by the Domalewski family contended that the bat wasn’t sufficiently tested and that its marketing violated the Consumer Fraud Act, among other allegations.
A copy of the complaint (PDF) is provided on the NorthJersey.com website.
Of $14.5 million, a little over $4.7 million will be paid to the family’s attorneys, the Record reports.
The Associated Press also has a story.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Parents of Boy, 11, Hit in Head by Ball Sue Aluminum Bat Maker”
ABAJournal.com: “Bat-Maker Must Pay $850K to Family of Player Killed By Baseball”
