Some closure to a tough story.
The family of a girl struck by a foul ball at Minute Maid Park during the 2019 season has reached a confidential settlement with the Astros, the family’s attorney said Friday afternoon.
Because the settlement involves a minor, it must receive court approval, leading to a lawsuit filed Thursday night in Harris County Court. Plaintiffs Jonathan David Scott and Alexandra Colchado are described as the “natural parents and next friends” for the minor, whom the lawsuit does not identify.
“This is the initiation of that process,” attorney Richard Mithoff said Friday. “The matter has been resolved and we are now seeking court approval of that settlement, which we are required to do under the law.”
The case is assigned to Judge Michael Gomez in 129th district court. The court will appoint a guardian “ad litem” on the minor’s behalf that will make a recommendation about the settlement.
The girl was 2½ when a foul ball hit by then-Chicago Cubs outfielder Albert Almora struck her in the head during a May 29 game against the Astros. Mithoff told the Chronicle last January she sustained a skull fracture and a permanent brain injury that left her at risk for seizures.
“She’s doing pretty well,” Mithoff said Friday. “Her anti-seizure medication has been gradually reduced over the last two years and so she has been seizure-free for 22 months. We anticipate she will continue to improve and they can continue to reduce the anti-seizure medications. She seems to be doing well. The family is obviously very hopeful about the future.”
[…]
Three months after the incident, the Astros extended netting at Minute Maid Park more than 150 feet down both foul lines. That December, Major League Baseball announced all 30 teams would have extended netting during the 2020 season.
“The family remains very grateful that, I think, virtually every ballpark now has put in the enhanced netting that goes all the way to the foul pole,” Mithoff said. “I think they are very pleased that has come about, even though it took this very unfortunate event to bring it about.”
See here for the previous update. I’m very glad to hear that the girl is doing better, and I hope she continues to improve. And I completely agree that the implementation of netting at all MLB stadia is the best possible outcome of this otherwise tragic situation. My wish is that we hear from this girl herself someday, and that she is able to tell us that she is all right.
This whole story is sad from beginning to end, but I don’t understand the parent’s rationale or decision to bring a 30-month old child to a baseball game. Certainly if you had the cash to sit somewhere close to the field at Minute Maid, you had the funds to hire a babysitter for four hours on a Wednesday night.
Sure hope she fully recovers.