A Harris County (Texas) District Judge has granted a joint motion to dismiss with prejudice a lawsuit brought by Paramedic Brian Cariota, who was working in the dugout of the Houston Astros’ post-season game at Minute Maid Park against the New York Yankees in October of 2019 when he was struck by a foul ball and suffered a concussion.
Cariota sued the Astros after he was struck in the head. After the incident, he was rushed to the hospital where he was treated for a traumatic brain injury, brain bleed and facial fractures after the incident. His attorneys alleged that he suffered permanent damage to his retina and will have lifelong vision issues and post-concussion syndrome. He was seeking $1,000,000 to cover his physical pain and mental anguish.
Cariota recently amended his lawsuit against the team, removing that part of the complaint, which suggested that the lack of netting over the Astros dugout may have been related a desire by the ballclub to preserve sightlines for use in stealing other teams’ signals.
The amended complaint read: “The decision was made in deliberate disregard for the rights, safety, and welfare of others including Brian Cariota. The decision not to protect the dugout with safety netting left the area where Brian was assigned to work exposed to a foreseeable hazard of which (the Astros) had actual knowledge.”
