Girl hit by foul ball at Astros game had skull fracture: Lawyer
HOUSTON, Texas -- The 2-year-old girl who was hit by a foul ball at a Houston Astros game last month suffered a skull fracture from the incident, according to her family's attorney.
Houston attorney Richard Mithoff's office released a news release Wednesday on the incident, marking the first time the family involved in the May 29 ordeal has publicly disclosed the young fan's condition.
"The family's foremost concern is about the health of their child, but they also wanted me to extend their thanks to the fans and the Astros for their concern," said Mithoff, who notified the team of his and family attorney Steve Polotko's retention in the matter.
According to attorney's office, the girl also had subdural bleeding, brain contusions and brain edema.
She also had a seizure and is on medication to prevent recurrences, Mithoff's office said. She is recovering at home.
The family's identity was not disclosed. In the days after, the Astros said the family asked for privacy.
The incident happened during a game between the Astros and the Chicago Cubs at Minute Maid Park.
Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr. hit a line drive in the fourth inning into the field-level stands down the third base line, where it hit the girl.
The girl was picked up by a man, who Mithoff identified only as a relative, and he dashed up the stairs not long after she was struck. A photo taken by The Associated Press showed the girl apparently conscious and crying as she was whisked away and nearby fans looked on.
After the game, the Astros issued a statement saying the fan was taken to a hospital.
Thursday, MLB echoed the team's sentiment in its own statement:
"The events at last night's game were extremely upsetting. We send our best wishes to the child and family involved. Clubs have significantly expanded netting and their inventory of protected seats in recent years. With last night's event in mind, we will continue our efforts on this important issue."
Like all major league stadiums, Minute Maid Park has netting to protect fans near the field from foul balls. On the third base side in Houston, it extends to the end of the visiting team's dugout. The girl was sitting in what looked to be the third or fourth row about 10 feet past where the netting ends.
Following recommendations from Major League Baseball, by the start of the 2018 season all 30 teams had expanded their protective netting to at least the far ends of the dugouts after several fans were injured by foul balls in 2017.
At Yankee Stadium in May 2017, a boy was struck on the head by a portion of Chris Carter's broken bat. A fan sitting beyond the first base dugout was hit by a 105 mph foul ball off the bat of Aaron Judge in July of that year. And in September, a young girl was injured by another 105 mph foul ball off the bat of Todd Frazier and was hospitalized.
Since the Astros incident, a fan at an Los Angeles Dodgers game was hit by a foul ball.
SEE ALSO: 'Everything went dark' - teen Dodgers fan details getting struck by foul ball
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The video above is from a previous story.
