Little Leaguer Slides Into Second Base - Gets Hurt - Mother Suing Coach

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A Staten Island mom is blaming her son's injury during a Little League game on a bum education in base-running.

In a new twist on an old rite of passage, Jean Gonzalez is suing a beloved veteran coach for not teaching her son Martin how to slide properly, according to a lawsuit filed on May 4.

The litigation stems from an ill-fated play exactly three years earlier, when Martin, then 12, whacked his first hit of the season and was told to go for second by his first-base coach.

When he slid into second base, he suffered "serious bodily injury" that required multiple surgeries and caused "permanent scarring and disability," according to the suit filed in Staten Island Supreme Court. The suit did not specify the dollar amount of damages.

Martin's coach, Leigh Bernstein, the New Springville Little League, and its international umbrella organization, Little League Baseball and Softball Inc., are all named as defendants in the suit, which charges them with never teaching him "skills needed to avoid and/or minimize the risks of injury," specifically how to run bases and slide.

News of the suit shocked the league, with some parents calling it frivolous and saying injuries are part of the game.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05202007/news/regionalnews/base_accusationinjured_kids_mom_sues_slide_fool_coach_regionalnews_james_fanelli_______and_mike_scholl.htm

I feel bad the kid got hurt, but seriously, WTF?? And it took 3 years to decide to sue?

The S.O.L. does not run until the kid turns 18. Injury lawyers usually tell victims not to sue until their treatment is complete so they know the full amount of the damage. Also, there was probably a lot of negotiation before suit was actually filed.

In most states, participation in a physical sporting event constitutes a waiver of any negligence claims for accidental injury.

We just do not have enough personal-injury lawyers. :P

an activity that requires intense physical exertions sometimes results in injury? surely not!