A Pennsylvania state court judge has denied a chiropractor’s motion to dismiss a claim made against her in ongoing concussion litigation involving high school football star Jonathan Heubel.
In so ruling, the Erie County Common Pleas Court judge noted that “issues of material fact (like questions involving standard of care) must be determined by the jury at trial,” which is set for November.
By way of background, Heubel was a star senior linebacker for McDowell High School, which is located in Millcreek Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Erie. In a game against Cathedral Preparatory School in Millcreek Township on September 15, 2020, Heubel removed himself from the game in the second half and then collapsed on the sidelines. Soon thereafter, he was airlifted to a hospital in Pittsburgh, where he underwent surgery and other procedures for a traumatic brain injury.
Heubel, who continues to struggle to care for himself since the incident, and his mother and legal guardian, Megan Beasley, filed a lawsuit in Erie County Common Pleas Court. Specifically, they sued Allegheny Health Network (AHN), which employed the trainers, for professional negligence, alleging that the athletic training staff failed to properly diagnose and treat a concussion that Heubel suffered weeks before the game. Heubel, they alleged, was the victim of second impact syndrome. They alleged that he wasn’t fully healed when he played in the September 15 game.
At the time, they sought $22.5 million in damages, according to court records, which included $19.8 million to cover lifetime medical costs. In January, a settlement was reached between the plaintiffs and AHN.
However, AHN’s lawsuit against chiropractor Phoebe Kutterna and Progressive Chiropractic Center was unresolved.
In that litigation, Kutterna and her practice moved to dismiss the case. The judge, in a six-page ruling, agreed with AHN, noting that “there are genuine issues of fact regarding liability that are material and disputed by the parties” about whether the defendants are at least partially responsible for the incident.
The defendants had argued that Kutterna properly treated Heubel and “did not have the authority to clear Mr. Heubel to play football under Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association guidelines.”
The judge, however, noted that questions around whether the PIAA guidelines applied to Kutterna, and whether she and her practice breached the standard of care for Heubel remain unresolved.
“These are issues of material fact that must be determined by the jury at trial,” according to the ruling.
