Football Player Sues H.S. Coach
As football season begins in high school leagues across the nation, coaches are issuing protective equipment to players. The mother of an injured East St. Louis High School football player Demond Hunt Jr. is seeking damages of more than $200,000 in a lawsuit filed on his behalf against the local school district and head football coach. She alleges that her son suffered permanent brain injuries as a result of negligence on the part of the coach and the district.
Hunt, then 16, suffered a series of seizures and small strokes while on the sidelines at a high school game. Doctors discovered a blood vessel had burst in Hunt's brain. He was hospitalized for at least five weeks.
The mother believes that the district and coach were negligent by providing Hunt with a defective football helmet. The suit says an air bellows designed to provide a protective cushion was not properly inflated. Additionally, after Hunt complained of a headache and exhibited signs of concussion his coach ordered him to continue to play.