HANOVER, N.H. — A Dartmouth College student who was seriously injured during baseball practice is suing the Ivy League school.

Colton French says in a lawsuit filed Thursday he was pitching from behind an L-shaped screen for the first time in February 2016 when a ball hit by a batter crushed his right eye socket and broke facial bones. He says he lost the vision in that eye and missed the rest of that school year because of his injuries, depression and anxiety. He says medical costs have topped $430,000.

French says the Hanover, New Hampshire, college was negligent because the practice facility was poorly lit, the screen was old and inappropriate for college-level use and coaches failed to instruct him on how to use it. His lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.


A college spokeswoman has declined to comment.