Fresno student suffered brain damage at football practice. Now his dad is suing district
The father of a 16-year-old Edison High School football player is suing Fresno Unified School District for injuries his son suffered while practicing in triple-digit temperatures this summer.
Moses Stovall alleges in his lawsuit that the school district along with one of Edison’s football coaches failed to provide his son with immediate medical care after he collapsed on the field. Christian Stovall suffered severe brain and organ damage, according to the lawsuit.
Stovall accuses the coach and district of being negligent and is seeking damages to be determined at a jury trial.
Fresno Unified spokeswoman Amy Idsvoog said she could not comment Monday because she had not seen the lawsuit that was filed on Wednesday.
According to the lawsuit, the player was participating in conditioning drills with the rest of the team on June 24 when he began to experience an excessively high body temperature. It was 102 degrees that day and the teenager allegedly told assistant coach Khasim Kariem, also known as Coach Kaz, that he felt weak, but the coach told him to run. He tried, but he collapsed.
Instead of providing immediate medical help, such as cooling him off, or calling 911, the coaching staff called his father, according to the lawsuit.
“Shockingly, emergency personnel did not come to the scene. Instead, (the teenager’s father) had to transport him to the hospital,” the lawsuit states. “By the time (the teenager) reached the hospital, however, his condition had worsened.”
Stovall has hired the Wilshire Law Firm, a personal injury law group from Southern California. Lawyer Hazel S. Chang alleges the defendants failed to protect the health and safety of its student athletes by not providing sufficient rest periods during football practice; having timely medical care available; and quickly calling for aid/paramedics.
The lawsuit also alleges the district failed to give students proper access to water and other fluids during known excessive heat conditions.
Stovall is seeking damages for the “mental anguish, terror, anxiety, and physical injuries, including, but, not limited to, severe brain and organ damage.” He also is seeking compensation for the loss of any potential earnings his son may have earned in his chosen occupation.
