Family Files Suit In Camp Near-Drowning
Posted in Our Blog on October 4, 2013
Scores of Louisiana boys suit up with pads and helmets every fall, preparing to take on the rigors of yet another football season. Many of those students have attended football camps at colleges or other facilities in preparation for their upcoming athletic goals. Sadly, injuries and deaths can happen at these camps, just as they can happen during a regular football season. One family from neighboring Texas is now suing a summer camp hosted by the Dallas Cowboys football team after their teenaged son suffered a brain injury during a near-drowning incident. The parents of the victim say the lawsuit is not about recovering a financial boon, but rather about holding the organizers of the activity responsible for their negligence.
The boy’s mother said she had a reasonable expectation that her son would be kept safe during the summertime camp. Instead, the child nearly drowned in mid-July in a swimming pool at the facility. Now, the boy is facing a long road to recovery. He had been an avid and skilled athlete, but now he is still using a ventilator to breathe. The suit claims that the boy and several friends were permitted to use the pool without proper supervision, but camp organizers say that lifeguards were on duty. In addition, the child did not know how to swim, and parents said they were not notified that swimming would be on the agenda at the camp.
Official reports show that the boy’s parents are suing the camp’s organizer, Sports International, along with several Cowboys players. They are seeking financial compensation in excess of $1 million, considering the severity of the boy’s injury and cost of continuing medical care. Administrators at the camp say that they are not liable for the child’s injuries; further, the players were not even at the camp at the time of the incident.
Children who have been injured by other people’s negligence deserve financial compensation for their long-term injuries. In cases such as this, the boy’s family could be bankrupted because of the high cost of medical bills. The organization should be held responsible for these costs.