A former high school football player has sued the Archdiocese of Mobile (Alabama), McGill-Toolen High School and school employees, claiming the defendants were responsible for the “traumatic brain injury” he suffered over the course of his playing career.
Plaintiff Eric Williams alleged that coaches, athletic trainers and school administrators were negligent in their handling of a head injury he sustained during spring training in 2015 when they permitted him to continue practicing after he had suffered a concussion.
The plaintiff also named Encore Rehabilitation, which oversees McGill’s athletic training program, in the lawsuit.
Williams says he was participating in practice drills under the direction of assistant coach Carl Jackson on May 7, 2015, when he suffered a concussion. Williams says he was evaluated by athletic trainer Drew Garner after practice and then met with Jackson at his home to discuss his health.
Neither man sent him to see a doctor for an official assessment of his symptoms, according to Williams.
Yet, he “was permitted to continue to participate in football practice without any restrictions,” according to the lawsuit. “At no point did any one of the defendants receive a written clearance for [Williams] to return to play from a licensed physician.”
The lawsuit goes on to quote Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) concussion policy, which reads that “any health care professional or AHSAA certified coach may identify concussion signs, symptoms or behaviors of a student athlete during any type of athletic activity,” including team practices and training.
Furthermore, “any student-athlete who exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion shall be removed from the contest and shall not return that day. Following the day the concussion symptoms occur, the student-athlete may return to practice or play only after a medical release has been issued by a medical doctor.”
Williams claims that after a few days after the injury that he was allowed to participate in another practice and required by Jackson to go through the tackling drills he’d been injured performing days before. This lead to “several blows to the head, and (Williams subsequently) lost consciousness,” according to the complaint. Williams was then hospitalized and required surgery due to a subdural hematoma.
In his complaint, Williams claims that negligent training, supervision and enforcement caused him to suffer a traumatic brain injury as well as “permanent physical, emotional, neurological and cognitive deficits.”
