Lawsuit Filed in Brain Injury Hazing Case

Elmore, OHIt is not just the NFL that faces brain injury lawsuits linked to football players, although the NFL likely faces many of the lawsuits related to traumatic brain injury from sports. High school students can also suffer a brain injury from their involvement in sport. As one lawsuit, filed against a school district and high school football coaches, alleges, teenagers are also at risk of serious injuries.

The lawsuit (case number 3:14-cv-00222) was filed by the parents of a young boy who was injured during a football practice, in what the plaintiffs claim was “part of an effort to punish and haze certain members of the football team” on the part of the coaches. The victim, referred to in court documents as D.E.S. was 16 years old at the time of the incident, and was a student at Woodmore High School as well as a member of the high school football team.

According to the lawsuit, on September 10, 2013, players were told not to wear full uniforms because of excessive heat - the lawsuit notes that temperatures on the practice field were above 90 degrees - and that the practice would be non-contact. Due to the coaches’ displeasure at a lack of hustle on the field, however, after about an hour and a half, players were ordered to change into full uniforms, but were given only eight minutes to do so. The lawsuit notes that of 45 players on the team, no more than 10 returned in the eight-minute time limit.

Players who made it back to the field in the time limit were allegedly instructed to tackle the latecomers as hard as they could, while the latecomers were not allowed to defend themselves. D.E.S. was reportedly hit hard and struck the back of his head on the ground. Following the exercise, another drill was begun, but D.E.S. reportedly became confused and disoriented. The lawsuit states that he vomited and was taken off the field, but no ambulance was called. Ultimately, D.E.S. collapsed and was taken to the athletic trainer’s office. He was driven home by his brother and taken to the hospital immediately by his parents.

Following the incident, D.E.S. was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. The lawsuit alleges D.E.S. is no longer able to participate in sports or other activities as a result of his brain injury and that he will suffer permanent injury as a result of the drill on the field.

“Defendants’ conduct was so extreme and outrageous as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency and was such that it can be considered as utterly intolerable in a civilized community,” the lawsuit states. As a result of the drill and the subsequent injuries, D.E.S. “suffered severe emotional and psychological distress of a serious nature to the degree that no reasonable person, let a lone a minor child, could be expected to endure it.”

The lawsuit was filed on February 3, 2014, against Woodmore Local Schools and two of the football team’s coaches. Although a criminal investigation was carried out against the coaches involved, no criminal charges were filed, according to WNWO News (10/23/13). The same report notes that the assistant coach involved in the incident resigned his position in late September.