A female boxer, who was reportedly a contender for a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic games in London before suffering a pair of concussions that effectively ended her career in the months leading up to the games, has sued her boxing coach-chiropractor, two other chiropractors who approved her to return to the ring ten days after an initial concussion, and the office where the chiropractors worked.
Plaintiff Ishika Lay was boxing in an Olympic qualifying fight in Toledo, Ohio, when she was struck in the head by an opponent and collapsed in the ring. John Phillips, Lay’s attorney, alleged that his client suffered second-impact syndrome, because the defendants—boxing coach Linda Banister and practicing chiropractors Marcus and David Kampee—failed to properly recognize the concussion and prevent her from returning to the ring too soon.
“She went to a doctor and said ‘what do I need to do’ and they put ice on her head and the chiropractor gave her hydrocodone,” said Phillips. “That’s absolutely a no-no. Doctors prescribe pills not chiropractors.”
The complaint notes that after Lay suffered the first concussion in a sparring match with a male boxer, she complained of “severe headache,” which “is a common symptom of neurological injury.”
The plaintiff goes on to allege that the defendant failed to perform “a Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC). Mr. Banister and Dunn Wellness were aware of such tools as SAC, but failed to perform them or refer Ms. Lay to a competent neurologist.”
In responding to the plaintiff’s complaints, the defendants “negligently or improperly handled” them. More specifically, Lay claims that defendants “never attempted to ‘elicit’ or ‘detect’ any symptoms by the use of ‘exertional maneuvers.’”
In sum, the plaintiff alleged that “proper, adequate, and objective post-concussion evaluation would have demonstrated that Ms. Lay was still experiencing symptoms of a prior concussion.”
“These organizations have done a good job with the management of the fight,” Phillips would later tell the media. “But if all they do is ask a fighter, ‘Do you have a headache?’ there are serious deficiencies. There is enough education and awareness of concussions and second-impact syndrome. The NFL requires a neurologist present at all games. Does boxing?”
View the complaint: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/assetpool/documents/130207013737_Ishika Lay complaint.pdf
