Brian Baucham, a former player on the University of Southern California football team, has reached a settlement with the school and his former head coach, Lane Kiffin, after claiming that he was forced to play too soon after a concussion, leading to permanent disabilities.
In the lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in September 2014, the plaintiff alleged that in September 2012 he suffered a concussion in a game. The next morning, he alleged, USC’s health clinic diagnosed him with an “influenza-like illness, viral pharyngitis and dehydration.” Further, “the medical staff told him that he was in no condition to play football that day or the following day,” according to the suit.
However, the next day, the coaching staff allegedly required him to play, leading to severe injuries.
Specifically, Baucham claimed he was “forced by Coach Kiffin to play a home game even though (he) was very ill and diagnosed by the USC Health Clinic with an influenza-like illness, viral pharyngitis and dehydration.” This allegedly caused Baucham to suffer “cardiopulmonary damage, as well as brain injury with neurocognitive deficits.”
At the time, plaintiffs’ lawyer Bruce M. Brusavich said that “USC and Head Coach Kiffin were clearly negligent and acted with conscious disregard for Brian’s welfare and safety by forcing him to play in the California Golden Bears game … despite his verified medical history and seriously ill condition.”
Brusavich filed a document seeking dismissal of the case on April 5, which likely means that a settlement was reached.
