Two-year-old girl struck by foul ball at Astros game suffered skull fracture, brain contusion, bleeding and seizure, attorney says
The two-year-old girl who was struck by a foul ball during a game between the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros last month suffered serious injuries, including a skull fracture, and a seizure.
The child, who was sitting on a relative's lap during the game on May 29, was struck in the head by Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr.'s fourth-inning line-drive that flew into the stands behind third base at Houston's Minute Maid Park, we previously reported.
A devastated Almora dropped to his knees and sobbed uncontrollably as the screaming girl was rushed out of the stadium to a hospital for treatment.
Richard Mithoff, an attorney who is representing the family of the girl, has now provided the first update on her condition since the unfortunate incident in a letter addressed to Astros owner Jim Crane.
Mithoff revealed that the two-year-old had suffered bleeding and swelling in her brain, as well as a brain contusion after she was hit. He said she had a seizure after she was hospitalized and is currently taking medication to prevent more seizures, and that she is recovering at home.
"The Astros' risk management representative reached out to the family, and now that the family is represented by counsel, I wanted to let the other side know that I am involved so that can get in touch with me," Mithoff said.
The lawyer said the family wanted to thank the fans and the Astros for their outpouring of support following the incident, adding that he knows Crane to be a "responsible owner" who will "do the right thing."
A day after the freak accident, Major League Baseball released a statement calling the incident "extremely upsetting" and promised to continue examining its policy on protective netting at stadiums.
Following injuries to several fans by foul balls in 2017, recommendations from MLB had resulted in all 30 teams expanding protective netting around their stadiums to at least the far ends of the dugouts by the start of the 2018 season.
But unfortunately, the two-year-old was sitting one section away from where the protective netting ended.
It is unclear if the family is planning to sue the Astros.
In a statement, the Astros said, "The Astros continue to send our thoughts and prayers to the young girl and her family. We continue to respect the family’s request for privacy and have no further comment at this time."
She's not the only one whose injury comes after the extension of the netting either.
On Sunday, June 23, a young girl was taken to the hospital for precautionary tests after she was hit in the head by a foul ball hit by Los Angeles Dodgers star Cody Bellinger. She was sitting four rows from the field along the first-base line, just beyond the netting that extends to the end of the visiting dugout.
A woman had similarly died last August after being struck in the head by a foul ball at the Dodger Stadium.
For now, it appears as though White Sox will become the first team to extend the protective netting to the foul poles, having planned to take the step at Guaranteed Rate Field after a female fan was struck by a ball hit by Eloy Jimenez on June 10.