HS Football Coach's Extreme Practice Gets Him Sued
Vince DeDario is facing a lawsuit over allegations that his coaching strategy endangered a high school football player two years ago.
Keemo Richardson was a freshman at John Adams High School in the fall of 2009 when the team suffered an embarrassing loss to their rival. After the team got back to Adams High, Coach DeDario called an immediate practice because of the team's poor performance.
Team members were allegedly told to break the legs of a tackling dummy, reports Business Insider. The problem is that the 'tackling dummy' was alive.
Coach DeDario purportedly made Richardson act as the tackling dummy while his teammates repeatedly ran into him at full speed.
At the end of the practice, Richardson claims he had a right calf injury and a dislocated shoulder. That's not to mention other aches and pains connected with the collisions.
Football is a dangerous sport and often injuries sustained while playing can't be recovered in a lawsuit. The law considers choosing to play an 'assumption of the risk' of injury and prohibits legal claims for the foreseeable injuries of the sport.
But that doesn't cover circumstances where the injuries are caused by recklessness on the part of a coach or by unusual activities, such as having a player act as a tackling dummy.
It can sometimes be hard to tell when injuries are caused by 'assumed risks' and when they are the result of reckless coaching or unexpected behavior. If you or a member of your family have been injured playing sports, don't suffer in silence.
Contact a qualified attorney to find out the likelihood that a personal injury suit will succeed.
Richardson and his family have spent years trying to negotiate a settlement, reports Business Insider. They filed a lawsuit on August 20, 2012, nearly two years after the incident, against John Adams High School, the principal, the athletic director, and Vince DeDario since negotiations have been unsuccessful.
Related Resources:
- Max Gilpin School Football Death Suit Settles (FindLaw's Injured)
- Starr's Mill Football Player Recovering From Head Injury (The Atlanta Injury News Blog)
- NY Boy, 15, Dies at HS Football Practice (FindLaw's Injured)