By Bryan Navarro
MEDFORD, Ore. -- The Medford School District is being handed a lawsuit claiming coaches neglected a concussion, and the player has suffered serious and permanent brain damage.
Theresa Pinder, the plaintiff and mother of the player, says her son suffered several brain bruising hits that were neglected by coaches. It happened on October 15, 2009 at the Junior Varsity Game between North and South Medford.
Nicholas Harris, at the time was a 15-year-old sophomore at North. He suffered two big hits and came to the sideline, believing he had a concussion. The suit says Harris felt dizzy, confused, and had poor balance. It says the coaching staff told him to "try and stick out" and he went back in the game.
The suit claims he was hit again, came back to the sideline and had a seizure, vomited, and collapsed. It says he spent three days in the hospital and suffered permanent damage. The district, could not say much about the suit.
"I really can't comment at this time on the lawsuit that's been filed, one thing I can say is that priority has been the safety of our students and our staff whether it's in athletics, activities in our buildings, and certainly we're taking this very seriously," said Medford Schools Superintendent Phil Long.
The suit asks for $585,000 in damages. In the summer of 2010, an Oregon law went into effect mandating that coaches be trained to recognize concussion symptoms. It also says players with those symptoms would not be allowed to play until the next day and when they had been cleared by a medical professional.
