OC Football Player Settles Brain Injury Case with School District for $31 Million

Any student that joins the school football team knows that the sport comes with a high risk of injuries. This includes trauma to the head, which is why football helmets are required when a player in on the field. But a helmet can only do so much, and it’s essential that schools take other precautions to protect young players from concussion and long-term conditions like chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

However, it’s clear that the football field at Corona del Mar High School failed to meet basic safety standards. For years, the district was warned by coaches and parents, who complained that the turf was too hard. It wasn’t just the football coaches that complained; soccer and lacrosse coaches also expressed concern about the playing field being too hard.

According to Emanuel Garcia’s lawyer, Jesse Creed, “The warnings came from every nook and cranny of the district… They came every year, they were in writing, they were verbal. Warnings were communicated to the principal — they were credible, they were consistent, and they were clear.”

In spite of so many people warning the district of the potential for bodily harm, including head injuries due to the hardness of the field, there was little to no effort in terms of making the playing field safer. As a result, Newport-Mesa Unified School District is liable for the harm suffered by Garcia, who sustained permanent and severe damage to his brain.

Sadly, Newport-Meas is just one of many school districts that fail to maintain and/or replace playing surfaces with obvious safety issues. This is unacceptable when a school’s duty is to protect their students from physical and emotional harm. Emanuel Garcia has to live with both of these issues for the rest of his life, all because school officials did not heed the warnings from coaches and parents of school athletes.

Traumatic brain injury lawsuits normally have high values, so payments of 6 to 7 figures are fairly typical. With representation from an experienced TBI lawyer, you are likely to receive anywhere from $500,000 to $3,000,000 and above.

As we mentioned, Emanuel Garcia settled his lawsuit against the Newport-Mesa Unified School District for $31,000,000. This is certainly on the higher end of the spectrum as far as case values, but it goes to show the possibility of what can be recovered from a lawsuit. The amount that your own case will settle for depends on many different factors, including:

• Your age at the time of the accident
• The extent of injuries to your brain and other organs
• How your physical and mental injuries impact your job performance or ability to get a job
• Your medical expenses, including lifetime medical care and related services.
• Mental health issues caused by the trauma of your accident and the pain and suffering during the recovery period and throughout your life

Because a school district is a public entity, all liability claims must be filed within 6 months from the incident date. Once you file a claim, you will be notified in writing within 45 days as to whether your claim is approved or denied. In the event you receive a rejection notice, don’t be discouraged, as this is very common. At this point, it’s extremely important to retain a government claims lawsuit attorney if you haven’t done so already. That way, you can file a personal injury lawsuit for the injuries caused by unsafe conditions on a natural or artificial grass playing field.

Keep in mind that a lawsuit must be filed no later than 6 months from when your injury claim is rejected by the school district. In other words, you have 6 months from the date on the denial notice to petition the court for a lawsuit. But what if the school system fails to give you a written response within 45 days of processing your claim? In that case, the statute of limitations for a lawsuit is 2 years from the date of the accident.

Parents send their children to school under the assumption that the people in charge will protect them from harm. This is a legal duty that school districts have to the students they serve, but sadly, many schools throughout California are plagued by hazardous conditions. As a result, children end up with serious injuries that compromise their quality of life.

Here at DTLA, we believe in holding schools districts accountable whenever they fail in their duty of care to students and their families. We also believe in free legal services for those who are impacted by a tragic accident, like what happened to Emanuel Garcia on March 9, 2021. That’s why we will represent you on contingency under the Zero Fee Guarantee and ask that the school district cover all legal fees. This way, our payment is contingent on winning your case, meaning you owe nothing if we don’t recover your settlement.

Please contact us today and talk to a brain injury accident lawyer during a free, private consultation.