Woman Sues Little Leaguer for $150,000 after Being Hit by an Errant Ball

Elizabeth Lloyd is suing Matthew Migliaccio, alleging the young catcher's throw caused "severe, painful and permanent" injuries.

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Erik Isakson

A New Jersey woman who was hit in the face by an errant ball at a little league practice two years ago is  suing the 11-year-old who threw it for $150,000.

Two years ago, Matthew Migliaccio, now 13, overthrew a baseball during a warm-up session at a Little League game in Manchester, N.J., accidentally striking Elizabeth Lloyd in the face. According to the boy’s family, Lloyd—who was at the park to watch her own son play—appeared to be fine. Soon after, though, Matthew began receiving “threatening and nasty letters,” his father  said.

”The whole thing has almost been surreal,” Migliaccio told the AP. ”We keep thinking it’s just going to go away, and then a week and a half ago a sheriff shows up at my door to serve my son the papers.”

Lloyd is suing for $150,000 in damages to cover medical costs, as well as for an undefined amount for pain and suffering. The suit alleges that Matthew’s throw ”assaulted and battered” Lloyd, causing her ”severe, painful and permanent” injuries.

Migliaccio counters that his son could not have hit her that hard. The errant baseball traveled more than 60 feet before striking Lloyd, and though Matthew is an avid baseball player, he’s far from Major League material. “They’re little kids. A lot of them don’t know how to throw,” Migliaccio told the New York Post. “It was an accident.”

Lloyd’s husband is suing the boy, too, for the loss of ”services, society and consortium” of his wife—which in layman’s terms, means his marriage has gotten pretty complicated ever since the baseball incident.

Anthony Pagano, a lawyer for the Migliaccios, has called the lawsuit frivolous and without merit. ”I just think that it’s disgusting that you have people suing an 11-year-old kid for overthrowing his pitcher in the bullpen,” he said to the Associated Press. ”Ultimately, hopefully, justice will prevail.”