Brain Injuries

A Los Angeles judge has ruled that the Children of Bryan Stow cannot take part in a lawsuit by their father, against the LA Dodgers after he was nearly beaten to death in a parking lot following a game.

Stow, a Giants fan, was attacked outside of Dodger Stadium after the season-opening game March 31, and suffered life threatening brain injuries. Stow is suing the Dodgers under the theory that the team cut back security, despite being aware of the dangerous condition of the parking lot, which was the site of previous assaults.

The judge found that the fact that the children were not present during the attack precluded them from receiving any sort of damages. After being in a coma for months, Stow has recently shown improvement, and has begun to communicate with family.

For many people, the beginning of baseball season is a sure sign that summer is fast approaching. Recently, San Francisco Giants fans broke out their orange and gold to celebrate their team’s season opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Some dedicated fans even made the pilgrimage down to Dodgers stadium to cheer on their team in person.

Since the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers are long-standing baseball rivals, their match-ups always draw a large crowd of lively, enthusiastic fans. However, during the season opener, several Dodgers fan became too involved in the completive spirit of the game, as they attacked and badly injured three Giants fans. One of the victims, a Santa Clara paramedic, is now recovering in a Los Angeles area hospital with severe brain injuries.

Officials from the Los Angeles Police Department claim that two men, both wearing Dodger’s paraphernalia, attacked three Giants fans as they exited Dodger Stadium and made their way towards Parking Lot 2. Many other fans were also heading towards their cars at the time of the attack, and therefore police officers estimate that up to 100 people may have seen the crime take place.

The aggressive Dodgers fans kicked, punched, and verbally berated their victims before running away. The attack left the Santa Clara paramedic with a fractured skull and frontal lobe brain damage.

The victim remains in a local hospital, where doctors assert that he is in serious condition. The patient’s neurologist told reporters that-considering the significant damage to the victim’s brain-his road to recovery will be long and hard.

Meanwhile, the victim’s family is left waiting both for information from the Los Angeles Police Department regarding the assailants and medical updates on their loved ones condition. We’ll keep you updated on future developments in this tragic case.

Source: Los Angeles Times, “Beaten Giants fan has brain damage, faces long recovery, doctors say.” 6 April, 2011