Heat Related Sports Deaths: A Preventable Tragedy

This is the time of year where it seems that everyone who rides in an automobiles passes a high school football practice. The sweltering sun and heat of this summer, which is particularly hot, is obviously a danger to those practicing. If those responsible for the players are not careful, deaths can ensue. Indeed, it has almost become commonplace every summer to read about the death of a high school or college football player due to extreme heat conditions.
Our firm, regrettably, has been involved in cases where football players have died. Two years ago, we represented the family of a member of the football team of a state university who died during extreme heat on the very first day of his team’s practice. This particular player had failed the physical provided by the team’s doctor the week before practice began but inexplicably, even though the doctor wanted to conduct more tests, the coaching staff allowed the player to practice with the all to predictable result the he succumbed to the heat. To make matters worse, when the player got into trouble, there was no trainer on the field nor were there any defibrillators present to render aid to the stricken player who died from a heart attack.
Obviously, caution is the best word here particularly for members of the coaching staff. Coaches need to make sure that their players are properly hydrated. They need to have a defibrillator present. Indeed, we contended in the case we handled that the failure to have a defibrillator readily available was negligence in and of itself. Most sports trainers would agree that in this day and age this is inexcusable particularly since these events are predictable.
One of the difficulties counsel faces in these cases is proving legal responsibility for damages. The State has waived its immunity under the State Tort Claims Act. If a county is involved, however, there may be sovereign immunity problems with respect to a particular high school. The same is true for a municipality. Accordingly, the legal analysis when dealing with sovereign immunity does tend to come up in this type of case. Nonetheless, it is clear that in order to prevent such a case from ever occurring, much less involving a lawyer, the sports community itself needs to take appropriate precautions to protect students in their care from preventable injury or death.