The parents of a Kentucky teenager, who collapsed and died on the soccer field, have sued then school, diocese, and the hospital, claiming negligence.
Matthew Mangine was participating in a practice on June 16, 2020 when the incident occurred.
The parents alleged in the lawsuit that there were many automatic external defibrillator (AED) devices on-site, none of which were used on Mangine after he collapsed. Furthermore, the parents noted that the head coach, athletic trainer and athletic director were not trained properly on how to use an AED. The fault for this, according to the complaint, rested with the defendants – St. Henry High School, the Diocese of Covington, and St. Elizabeth Medical Center, which employed the athletic trainer.
Specifically, the parents alleged that the coaches and trainers there when Mangine collapsed “were not equipped to deal with the situation present by Matthew’s cardiac arrest, due in large part to the failures of the defendants to adequately and properly prepare them for such emergencies.”
The complaint further states that “for many years, St. Henry and the Diocese have been operating their sports program, in conjunction with St. Elizabeth, in blatant and serious violation of the state law, KHSAA policies and the applicable standard of care.”
The “violations” mentioned by the parents centered on the creation of an Emergency Action Plans (EAP) and training on AEDs.
“For well over a decade, the standard of care mandates that schools should have an Emergency Action Plan,” according to the complaint. The complaint also noted that the EAP was not specific to the venue of the practice field, as required.
