Brett Baker-Goins, a student athlete at First Baptist School in Charleston, S.C., has been awarded $5.87 million by a jury in a case that could lead to more challenges of return-to-play and return-to-learn protocols.
The plaintiff suffered a concussion while playing basketball for school. After which, he was treated at Medical University Hospital (MUSC), where he complained of headaches, dizziness and cognitive issues. When he returned to school following the concussion, the school put him through its return to play protocol.
Baker-Goins’s attorney, W. Mullins McLeod Jr., argued that First Baptist School “rushed (his client back to the court) five weeks (after) being diagnosed at MUSC with a sports-related concussion.
“The second concussion resulted in a permanent traumatic brain injury that has delayed Brett’s educational, social and emotional development,” according to the attorney.
In a statement, McLeod Jr. emphasized that “safety is not an accident. Injuries like Brett’s don’t happen if the return to play protocol rules are as important as the playbook.”
