HOUSTON - A Harris County couple has sued the Boy Scouts of America after their son was allegedly assaulted while returning home from a camping trip two years ago.
Smoot and Paige Hull filed a lawsuit against the BSA and the organization's Sam Houston Area Council in the Harris County 152nd District Court on Sept. 21, claiming the defendants failed to protect the boy from being attacked by two older scouts on June 25, 2016.
According to recent court documents, the assault occurred on a charter bus from Buffalo Trails Scout Camp. The aforementioned older scouts reportedly harassed and threatened the younger kids, including the plaintiffs' son.
The Hulls say that one teen physically restrained their child, and when the boy resisted, the other older scout punched him in the face. Their son, identified by his initials PH, was knocked to the ground unconscious, the complaint states.
The suit further asserts the respondents neglected to help the boy and downplayed the incident.
Physicians diagnosed PH with a traumatic brain injury, the original petition says.
Consequently, the Hulls seek unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
Attorney Joel C. Simon of the law firm Fernelius Simon PLLC in Houston serves as the complainant's lead counsel.
Harris County 152nd District Court Case No. 2017-62418