Bucknell University has filed its answer to a lawsuit lodged by one of its former student athletes, who claimed the university was negligent when it missed or ignored symptoms associated with the concussions he suffered while competing for the school.
Specifically, it noted that plaintiff Eric Harris checked “no” in response to questions asking whether he suffers frequent headaches and whether he’d been knocked unconscious in the aftermath of the head injury. Harris, also, purportedly signed an acknowledgement prior to competing for the university, stating that he was aware of the risk of head injury and that it was his responsibility to self-report a concussion.
Harris, a wrestler, sued the university and the NCAA in 2014 in Philadelphia County. That suit was reportedly withdrawn five months later. The instant answer is in response to a more recent lawsuit.
Harris was a highly sought-after wrestler in Wyoming when the Bucknell coaching staff began recruiting him to their Division I program. Once in the fold, it did not take long for the controversy to begin. As a freshman in 2007, Harris allegedly suffered a concussion, and then seven days later was permitted to compete in the Navy Classic tournament. The complaint noted that there was no evidence that Harris had been diagnosed with a concussion after the injury, as required by university concussion protocol, and there was nothing to show that he was symptom free or cleared by a team physician for return to play. Harris reportedly suffered another head injury in the Navy Classic tournament.
Harris took the next two years off to participate in a Mormon mission. He then returned to the school for the 2010-11 school year. The plaintiff claimed that he suffered another concussion during a match in February 2011 when the back of his head crashed into a block wall unprotected by a mat, according to the lawsuit. That concussion ended his career.
Harris claimed, in his lawsuit, that his condition grew progressively worse. He cited one example in March of 2012, where he had to be escorted by a university professor to the school’s health center after he appeared to be out of sorts in the classroom. Harris subsequently withdrew from school in the spring of 2013.
In support of his claim, the plaintiff noted that a medical exam in December of 2014 revealed that he sustained six concussions, including one in high school and five in college. Further, the lawsuit alleges, the exam revealed Harris suffers from mild-to-moderate brain damage. In support of his claim, the plaintiff noted that Wyoming’s Social Security Administration has declared him disabled.
Harris claimed that the school failed to follow its own established concussion protocol, which includes a 5-step recovery program that involves baseline testing and a declaration by a team physician that the student athlete can return to play.
Bucknell disagreed.
“At all times Bucknell University followed proper protocol and acted on the information available,” according to the answer. Further, the school denied allegations that it “neglected or abandoned” the plaintiff, didn’t follow university protocol on concussions, or failed to provide sufficient padding to protect Harris and other wrestlers Lastly, the university argued that the two-year statute of limitations has expired.
