Little League Player Lawsuit: 11-Year Old Sued For Injuring Woman With Errant Throw

There’s no crying in baseball. But there are lawsuits. A woman in New Jersey is suing a little league player after his errant throw hit her in the face. Elizabeth Lloyd is seeking more than $150,000 in damages from 11-year-old catcher Matthew Migliaccio.

CBS News reports that Lloyd was sitting at a picnic table near the baseball diamond when she was hit by a baseball two years ago. The ball was thrown by Migliaccio who was warming up a pitcher before the game.

Migliaccio, now 13, said that he ran over to Lloyd at the time of the accident to see if she was OK. When she said that she was fine he returned to his warm-up.

Migliaccio said:

“I ran over to see if she was all right. She said she was OK. I was just on with warming the pitcher up, and I was not horsing around.”

The lawsuit claims, however, that Micliaccio’s throw was “intentional and reckless” and caused “severe, painful and permanent” injuries. The little league lawsuit goes on to say that Lloyd is still experiencing pain from Migliaccio’s “negligent” and “careless” act and is asking the baseball player to pay for her pain, anguish, and medical bills.

Lloyd is demanding a jury trial.

Anthony Pagano, a lawyer for Migliaccio, doesn’t believe that the lawsuit is credible.

Pagano said:

“I just think that it’s disgusting that you have people suing an 11-year-old kid for overthrowing his pitcher in the bullpen… It’s horrible this can actually happen and get this far. Ultimately, hopefully, justice will prevail.”

Bob Migliaccio, Matthew’s father, was also taken aback from the lawsuit.

Migliaccio said:

“It’s absurd to expect every 11-year-old to throw the ball on target. Everyone knows you’ve got to watch out. You assume some risk when you go out to a field. That’s just part of being at a game.”

Migliaccio said that the little league lawsuit puts him in a difficult position. He would love to beat the charges in court but said that it would cost him thousands of dollars. He’s hoping that the Manchester Little League will step in to help out, but said that it wasn’t likely to happen.

Steve Barr, a spokesman for Little League, said that the league’s accident insurance “includes coaches, players, even concession stand workers. But it does not cover spectators.”

What do you think of the little league lawsuit?