The family of a high school football player, who died a few days after sustaining a head injury in a helmet to helmet collision in a game, has filed a notice of claim against the Westfield Academy and Central School (NY). A notice of claim is not a lawsuit, but signals an intent to sue and preserves the right to sue as time passes.
Sixteen-year-old Damon Janes suffered the injury in the third quarter of a September 13 game and then staggered to the sideline, where he collapsed and never regained consciousness.
In their claim, Janes’ parents suggested that their son may have sustained a serious blow to the head in a game a week earlier, which may have left him vulnerable to the hit that cost him his life. They alleged specifically that Westfield failed to monitor Damon “between games when it was apparent he had suffered an injury” as well as failed to have him take a baseline concussion test before the season, which would have established a baseline for his balance and brain function.
“Currently, New York does not require schools to conduct baseline mental health tests for student athletes,” said Joseph M. Hanna of the law firm Goldberg Segalla. “Schools are required to pull students from a sporting event immediately after they have suffered a concussion, however. Students pulled from a game for this reason may only return to play after remaining symptom-free for at least 24 hours.”
The plaintiffs also claimed that Westfield failed to provide their son with a proper-fitting helmet, failed to properly recondition its helmets and failed to replace helmets as necessary “to optimize player safety.”
The Buffalo News has tried to secure game videos under New York State’s Freedom of Information law, but said Westfield’s business manager and district clerk have refused, reportedly invoking Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
The News quoted Frank D. LoMonte, an attorney and executive director of the Student Press Law Center in Alexandria, Va., as saying that “FERPA protects things that are private. What you look like playing football in front of a thousand people is not confidential. Committing something non-confidential to film does not magically transform it into a secret. The school should be embarrassed to be using FERPA in that way.”
