A lawsuit filed by a 13-year-old California high school student, who suffered a debilitating concussion in a freshman football game, alleges among other things that the school district in which he was a student provided medical staff for the varsity and junior varsity games, but not the freshman games.
Plaintiff Rashaun Council, of Monte Vista High School, suffered the injury in a game against Mount Miguel High School on Oct. 17, 2013. After the game, Council began vomiting, and then collapsed. Reportedly, he suffered a concussion and a subdural hematoma, and spent the next several months at Rady Children’s Hospital.
Rashaun told a local television station in San Diego, 10News, that he remembers nothing from that day and that he still has short-term memory issues.
He has retained attorney Brian Gonzalez, who told the television station that his client’s coaches were trained to recognize the signs of a concussion, but failed to do so.
In the lawsuit, Council named Grossmont Union High School District as a defendant. A spokesperson said the district’s policy “is to have a physician at all Varsity football games. Trainers will be at all home games and maybe at visiting games for all three levels of football.”
Meanwhile, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), which oversees high school sports for the state, reportedly told the television station that there is no CIF rule that requires medical staff at regular season games. Rather, each school district decides whether to staff the games.
Gonzalez added that his client has been an inspiration as they continue along a litigious path.
“To me, the most important cases are ones that you can feel you have something you need to fight for, and Rashaun is somebody that I will always do everything I can to fight for,” Gonzalez told the media.
