Family of Brazoswood High School Athlete Sues Parents, Classmates for $50M After Brutal Assault

The family of Cole Hagan is suing a number of parents and classmates who stood by and allowed him to be brutally attacked on December 3, 2021.

Parties are supposed to be fun, jovial events with friends and laughter. That last thing it’s supposed to be is dangerous. Unfortunately for one young man, attending a party was one of the worst decisions he could have made, and now his family is suing as a result. What happened, though?

The young man was Cole Hagan, 16. He played on the Brazoswood High School football team and decided to attend a house party on Cherrywood Court in Lake Jackson, near Houston, on December 3, 2021. Around 11:30 p.m., he was brutally attacked. When EMS units arrived on the scene, they found Hagan “unconscious and bleeding from his ears after allegedly being beaten by three teenagers, who lured him out of the party by telling him his truck had been hit.”

According to witness reports and court records, “Reid Mitchell, 17, allegedly punched Cole in the face, slammed him into the concrete, and threw three or four hard elbows.” Mitchell has since been charged with aggravated assault and was recently named in a lawsuit filed by Hagan’s family. Ayden Holland, 17, and Logan Huber, 18, also played a role in the incident and are facing charges of aggravated assault. 

According to the lawsuit, Hagan’s family is suing 16 people, “including his friends and their parents, for his attack.” The family is seeking more than $50 million in damages and argues Hagan’s “peers and their parents… should have known of the plan to attack Cole Hagan.”

When commenting on the pending litigation, Loren Klitsas, the attorney representing the family, said:

“The Hagan family is going to pursue justice in this case…Their son Cole, a star football player, is permanently damaged, and they have no choice but to pursue the parties that are responsible for it. It’s horrible.”

The lawsuit alleges many of Hagan’s peers “knew about the planned attack before it happened and didn’t stop it.” On top of that, it claims one student even sent “photos of Hagan to Mitchell to commence the plan to brutally assault.” The parents named in the suit and who are being accused of negligence include the following: Robert Brandon Mitchell, Trista Wylde Huber, Thomas Holland, Wendi Holland, Hailey Vitek Rodd, Steven Rodd, Paul Cagle, Shelley Stroud, and Rodney Stroud.

Around Christmas, Hagan’s brother posted the following update on Facebook about his recovery:

“Cole is home!!! Cole was released as an inpatient from TIRR and will now begin his journey as an outpatient at TIRR…He is so happy to be home and we could not be more excited and grateful to spend Christmas at home with him…Thank you all for your prayers and support. The doctors have called his progress, thus far, ‘miraculous’ and we have no doubt that God answered all of our prayers. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU and Merry Christmas!”

Sources:

Family of beaten Texas athlete files $50 million lawsuit against classmates, parents

Three teenagers charged in brutal beating of fellow high school student