PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) - An Arizona school district can’t be sued over a student’s death after suffering a concussion in a football game, an appeals court ruled, refusing to reinstate a lawsuit by parents who accused the district of failing to implement a proper safety plan.
“Our sympathies lie with C.S.’s parents,” the Arizona Court of Appeals wrote. “They have suffered an unimaginable loss. But not every loss is actionable. Here, the law lies with the district.”
A high school student identified as C.S. died after suffering a concussion in a football game on Oct. 20, 2017. The student was playing for Moon Valley High School and died soon after injuring his head. Game footage and the emergency department log show he arrived at the hospital 30 minutes after he was injured.
His parents argued the school district didn’t properly implement an emergency plan, including sharing it with the local emergency department, opening an access gate before the game, posting an ambulance on site and ensuring “key personnel” knew their jobs. They said C.S. would have arrived at the hospital faster and likely survived if the district had taken those steps.
A trial court dismissed the case, however, finding that the county had no duty to contract with an ambulance service and was immune from claims over how it implemented its emergency plan. The Court of Appeals, Division One, upheld the dismissal.
The doctrine of governmental immunity prevents plaintiffs from suing over decisions state employees make on how to implement policies, the court observed. The students parents argued there were still questions of fact for a jury to decide, including whether they were fully informed of the risks of football, especially since C.S. had suffered a concussion in 2016. The also argued the county had failed to properly fit his helmet.
Carlos Sanchez acknowledged in a deposition that he understood the danger of another concussion for his son, however, and bought a new helmet to protect him. The boy’s doctor also cleared him to play and a plaintiff medical expert conceded he would have done the same.
“C.S.’s parents presented no well-founded expert evidence from which a jury could conclude the district’s actions or inactions cause C.S.’s death,” the appeals court concluded. It also refused the parents’ request for legal costs, saying they didn’t prevail in the case.