Volleyball spiked into elderly woman's head, lawsuit claims

A woman from Kansas sued a volleyball club and a Richmond-area gym Wednesday, saying she fell and broke her elbow after a wayward volleyball hit her in the head.

Lanona Elaine Bunch and Harold Bunch are seeking $100,000 to $300,000 in damages from Texas Pride Volleyball Club and Slaters Sports Zone on Plantation Drive near the Pecan Grove area. The suit, filed Wednesday, Aug. 24 in state district court in Richmond, claims that Lanona Bunch was at Slaters on March 26 during a Texas Pride volleyball tournament when a player, who was warming up for a game, accidentally spiked a ball into her head.

"She was there watching her granddaughter in the tournament," says the Bunchs' attorney, Robert Lapin. "In between games, Mrs. Bunch was walking just in a regular pedestrian area, and somebody allowed a team to come on and start warming up... one of the players spiked the ball very hard and hit Mrs. Bunch."

Contacts for Texas Pride and Slaters have not replied to requests for comment.

Lapin says Lanona Bunch is in her early 70s. He says his clients may seek more money, depending on the outcome of her medical treatment, including surgeries.

The suit accuses Texas Pride and Slaters of negligence, charging that someone should have kept pedestrians out of the way while players were warming up.