Football Player Sues Coach and School
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A former high school football player is suing the town of Coventry, Connecticut and his former coach over a leg injury that was the alleged result of carrying a player twice his size in a practice drill in 2005. The personal injury suit, filed in Rockville's Superior Court, alleges that Peter John Francis Murphy, a junior at Coventry High School at the time of the incident, was injured as a result of "carelessness and negligence" by head coach Scott Cormier.
According to the claim, Cormier asked Murphy, who weighed in between 140 and 150 pounds, to carry a player that weighed between 270 to 305 pounds piggyback from sideline to sideline. Allegedly this was after another teammate had suffered an asthma attack from attempting the same drill.
The suit alleges that Murphy's leg gave way because of a right knee cruciate ligament tear. The injury required reconstructive surgery and allegedly what is likely to be permanent impairment.
According to the suit, the school's staff did not administer or call for medical care and Murphy's teammates had to carry him to his father's truck for transport to the emergency room.
The suit says that Cormier, as the town's agent, showed failure to adequately supervise the football practice, provide an environment that was safe, order the drill to be stopped, take the proper medical precautions after the injury, and avoid using a drill that he should have known had an immediate and unreasonable injury risk.
The suit was filed on September 5 of this year and seeks reimbursement of medical costs as well as other damages.