Lawsuit filed against Las Vegas Little League after girl breaks leg
A Las Vegas-based Little League chapter has been sued by a family who says their daughter broke her leg in May while sliding into a base that was improperly secured in the ground.
The alleged negligence of the Bolden Little League and its affiliates led to injuries that caused the girl “pain and suffering, emotional distress, permanent disfigurement, (and) loss of enjoyment of life,” as well as left her family with costly medical expenses related to her injuries, according to the six-page complaint filed Friday in Clark County District Court.
The lawsuit names the girl, Jada Woods, and her mother Tabitha Carpenter as plaintiffs, but does not specify Woods’ age.
The complaint states that on May 3, Woods was playing in a Bolden Little League game at Doolittle Park in Las Vegas. During the game, while sliding into second base, Woods’ broke her right leg when she slid into the stationary, fixed base, according to the complaint.
According to the lawsuit, the league is required by its own policies and “generally accepted safety standards” to use breakaway bases, or bags that detach from a fastening point when enough force is applied. Little League rules for baseball and softball specify that leagues are required to ensure that first, second and third bases can disengage from anchor, according to the organization’s rule book on its smartphone app.
Despite that requirement, the complaint alleged, Bolden Little League failed to ensure that breakaway bases were installed and maintained for the game in question, and that the league should have known that using stationary bases created a risk of injury, the complaint said.
The plaintiffs are being represented by Richard Young of the Richard Harris Law Firm, who could not be reached for comment. The Bolden Little League did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
A position paper posted by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons shows the use of breakaway bases in recreational softball reduced sliding injuries by 98 percent, as opposed to traditional stationary bases, which were described as bolted to a metal post and sunk into the ground. The group concluded that utilizing breakaway bases at all levels of baseball and softball could “dramatically reduce injuries” to athletes, and recommend breakaway bases be installed on all playing fields.
Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky.