May 22, 2017Family Sues School
The family of Isaiah Langston, a football player at Rolesville (N.C.) High School who collapsed at practice and later died, is suing the Wake County school district and athletic staff. They allege that their son’s death was the result of the defendants’ negligence.
According to The News & Observer, on Sept. 24, 2014, Langston was hit in the back of the head during football practice, and was “held out” for two days, during which time he complained of a headache. Two days later, he collapsed during pre-game warmups, and died three days after that.
Langston’s family filed a lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court, accusing the school of failing to respond to Langston’s complaints or follow state concussion protocol, which requires student-athletes with concussion symptoms to be cleared by a medical doctor or licensed athletic trainer before returning to play. The lawsuit also names Jermaine Evans, then head football coach; Brad Farrell, then head athletic trainer; Anthony McKoy, assistant football coach; and Tommy Moore, athletic director for Rolesville.
“The aforesaid injuries, death and damages sustained by Isaiah Langston were directly and proximately caused by the careless, negligent, grossly negligent, reckless, and willful and/or wantonly actions of the Defendants,” the family says in the lawsuit.
In response, the school acknowledged that Langston had not been cleared to play, but alleged that Langston had failed to disclose having concussion-related symptoms.
“Isaiah Langston was negligent in one or more respects and failed to exercise the proper care which prudent persons under the same or similar circumstances would have exercised,” the district said in response to the lawsuit.
