The family of a New Jersey high school football player, who died after sustaining a head injury during a 2008 practice, has reached a settlement with the school district.
The plaintiffs, who are the parents of Douglas Morales, will receive $125,000.
Morales was participating in a practice at Cliffside Park High School on Aug. 22, 2008 when he collapsed and lapsed into a coma. He died four days later. The practice occurred during “two-a-days” week, in which athletes reported for two two-hour practices each day, with a one-hour break in between.
In their 2010 lawsuit, the Morales family alleged that the school district personnel failed to shield student athletes from “unreasonable risk of harm,” and were negligent in supervising practices and recognizing signs of head injury. There was another twist to the lawsuit in that the plaintiffs claimed the district failed to provide the players with proper equipment.
Besides the school district, other named defendants included Cliffside Park High School, its principal, George Fabiano; the head coach, John Ranu; and the athletic director, Joseph Taibi. Corporate defendants included Circle System Group Inc. and Schutt Sports Inc.
David Drill, the former president of Circle System Group Inc., pled guilty in 2008 to operating a massive fraud scheme in which his Pennsylvania-based company reportedly lied about critical helmet safety tests and provided gifts to school officials.
Meanwhile, Schutt and its affiliates were dropped as defendants from the lawsuit last spring.
In a statement, Casey Langel, the attorney representing the school and the employees named in the lawsuit, said that the district has admitted no wrongdoing.
“The district was prepared to present nationally recognized experts in the field of football and equipment safety who would have testified that the football program was run correctly and that the equipment provided to the players was safe for use,” he said.
“However, the district also recognizes the expense and emotional toll of protracted litigation and has always felt the utmost sympathy for the Morales family’s loss following this tragic accident.” Langel’s confidence could have stemmed from the defendants’ plan to present the only school employee to witness the tackle that led to the injury. In a deposition, Assistant Coach Jason Cameron said that Morales and his drill partner performed a tackle as they were taught, and denied there was any helmet-to-helmet contact.
Meanwhile, the plaintiffs were prepared to present a report from an expert witness that suggested that their son suffered repetitive head trauma and a significant injury about three days before he collapsed on the field, according to court documents.
The writings of Dr. Sandra Gutierrez, of Roselle, New Jersey pointed to the danger of second-impact syndrome and the “catastrophic” results it can have.
“Cliffside Park High School is responsible for employing the proper staff, and offering them and mandating of them the proper training and attention to detail to ensure the safety of teenagers,” she wrote in her report. “They are accountable for the consequences of failure to meet these obligations. Douglas Morales’ death would have and should have been prevented had these measures been in place.”
The carefully worded settlement agreement suggests that the settlement is “the compromise of a doubtful and disputed claim” and not an admission of liability by the defendants.
