What to look for when your child is hit at the ballgame
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Following the injury of a young fan, some parents would like to see more netting added to Major League Baseball stadiums.
If you go to an Astros game, your ticket warns you about foul balls. It says if you sit near the dugout, you should be on alert and fans assume all risks.
Wednesday night, the child was sitting near the dugout just beyond the safety netting.
RELATED: Cubs' Albert Almora Jr. foul ball hits fan; line drive leaves kid injured
"I mean, it's a nightmare," parent Robert Cortez observed.
The Astros said the girl was rushed to the hospital after getting hit by a foul ball. The Astros wouldn't provide an update Thursday on her condition, saying the girl's family asked for privacy.
Following the injury, we asked fans if the netting should be extended.
"Accidents are accidents," fan Ron Lindsay said. "We just need to put our trust in God and deal with what he gives us."
"To prevent that from happening, and someone else from getting hurt, I would suggest it highly," another fan Becky Hendrik said.
The Astros extended the barrier clubhouse to clubhouse two years ago, a requirement all MLB stadium's must meet.
Cubs player Albert Almora Jr. hit the ball that injured the fan. The incident left him in tears.
"When that half inning was over, I just couldn't hold it in anymore," Almora told reporters after Wednesday's game.
For years, the Major League Baseball Players Association has pushed for netting from foul pole to foul pole. The owners and league have denied the request.
MLB sent Eyewitness News a 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."
Medical experts said a child getting struck in the head by a MLB foul ball could be deadly.
"A baseball going 100 miles per hour can be a potentially life-threatening injury," UTHealth professor and chief of the division of pediatric neurosurgery, Dr. David Sandberg, explained. "It depends upon where it hits. How young the child is. How thin the child's skull is."
If your child is hit by a foul ball, Sandberg said look for indentations in his or her skull, blurred vision, vomiting, or not walking right.
If there are those symptoms, he said the child should immediately see a doctor.
"It's important to move very, very quickly when there's a trauma, because if there's a life-threatening blood clot underneath a fracture, that child would need to go to the operating room for surgical management," Sandberg said.
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