Mother sues Penn Township Athletic Association after son injured while throwing

The mother of a boy who was injured during batting practice last year for a Penn Township Athletic Association travel baseball team has sued the organization, saying he was asked to participate in a dangerous exercise.

Manor’s Judith Gross said coaches were negligent and reckless when they ordered her son to throw behind an ‘L-screen’ a short distance away and without any instruction or safety warning during indoor training on February 28, 2021, at a facility in North Huntingdon.

She claimed her son had been instructed to throw ‘an unusually short distance’ and received no prior instruction on how to throw behind a screen which leaves part of the player’s body unprotected.

“After ordering the underage plaintiff and his teammates to perform the drill inside the batting cages, no coach of the defendant PTAA directly supervised and monitored said drill,” according to the lawsuit filed in the county. of Westmoreland.

Gross claims his son suffered serious facial injuries – including three orbital fractures – when he was hit in the eye with a batted ball. He underwent surgery, according to the lawsuit.

The boy’s age was not revealed in the lawsuit and the family’s attorney, Jeff Monzo, could not be reached for comment.

Gross seeks damages in excess of $30,000 for pain and suffering and mental anguish for permanent disfigurement.

Attempts to reach the Penn Trafford Athletic Association for comment were unsuccessful.