Member of the American College of Forensic Examiners On August 31, 1988, plaintiff, age 15, was a sophomore at Hawthorne High School in Hawthorne, New Jersey and a member of the varsity football team. As it was the coaches' philosophy that players should play both offense and defense, he was both a quarterback and a linebacker. Not all players, however, played both ways. There were seven and one-half days of practice prior to this date. There were voluntary captains' practices twice a week devoted to running and stretching before official practices were allowed to begin. No coaches were present during these practices, and no instruction or strength training took place. Official pre-season practice commenced the last week in August 1988. Equipment, including a reconditioned Riddell WD 1 Helmet, was issued to plaintiff on the first day of practice. No adult checked the fit of the helmet. The afternoon session of the first day included an introduction to varsity football, an orientation, statement of goals for the year, and a discussion of positions and personnel who would fill those positions. Then the players did some stretching and running, and began working on offense or defense. The plaintiff spent all afternoon as a quarterback; he did not participate in any defensive drills.
During the rest of that week the plaintiff spent most of his time on offense. The coaches broke the team down by position and the plaintiff was often pulled out of the defensive meeting, while the defensive players were given the benefit of instruction and execution of defensive moves and drills. Some practices he did not work with the defense at all. The defensive drills he did participate in consisted of positional work, tackling methods, and some hitting of the sled. The plaintiff received verbal instruction on regarding tackling. He was instructed to tackle the opponent's mid-section, not his shoulders, and that the point of contact should be the waist. He was told to keep his head to the side and to use his shoulder pads for tackling. He was not given any instruction on correct position of the head, although there was mention of "no spearing".
The players did not receive any instruction or warnings regarding the consequences of improper tackling techniques. They also were not warned about the tragic results that could occur with head down tackling. No literature, films, videos, or other visual aids were used to demonstrate proper and safe tackling methods. Although a sophomore, the plaintiff did not receive individual or specialized instruction in the techniques of blocking and tackling and he was not afforded an opportunity for modification and solidification of his defensive skills, and tackling in particular. Because he did not receive any feedback, he was not certain that he was practicing proper methods of tackling. Most importantly, he never practiced hitting people.
The scrimmage on Wednesday, August 31,1988 was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. at Newton High School, Newton, New Jersey. The plaintiff watched the first part of the scrimmage while the first string played. The plaintiff began playing in the later part of the scrimmage and played in three (3) series of plays, each series consisting of 10 plays. In the last defensive series of the scrimmage, which was the plaintiff=s first series on defense, he lined up to play an outside defensive position on the varsity team. He saw that Newton was going to run a running play and attempted to move to the inside, where a tight end tried to block him. He shed the blocker and moved toward the ball carrier. The plaintiff was in a low position and hit the ball carrier, who was larger than him, around the waist or thigh. The runner's knee came up and hit the plaintiff on the side of the head, jarring his head. Upon making the tackle, everything went silent, and the plaintiff knew something was very wrong. He was lying on the ground and could not move any part of his body. By the time the plaintiff=s father reached him on the field, someone had removed his helmet. He does not remember a trainer or a physician being present and caring for him.
After some time the plaintiff was transported by ambulance to Newton Memorial Hospital and then transferred to State University Hospital in Newark. The plaintiff underwent surgery to realign his spine, and bone was transplanted from his hip to his spine. After a recovery period at University Hospital, the plaintiff underwent six months of rehabilitation at Kessler Institute. The plaintiff suffered permanent paralysis from the chest down.
Dr. Leonard Lucenko, the football safety, coaching and risk management liability expert stated in his expert report that the coaches at Hawthorne High School unreasonably enhanced and increased the risk of injury by not adequately preparing the plaintiff physically and mentally to play linebacker, causing a mismatch situation against a more experience and better conditioned opponent. There was no emphasis on muscle and neck strengthening exercises, and there was an inadequate conditioning program prior to the scrimmage. Dr. Lucenko stated that it was the coach=s responsibility to see to it that his players are proficient in the execution of basic techniques so that they can play winning football. Even more importantly, at this level, is the demand and requirement that proper techniques be used to minimize exposure to injury. This did not take place. The plaintiff was not provided with adequate and proper instruction on the proper techniques of tackling. This effort should included lecture sessions (not only by the coach and his staff, but also by medical personnel), handouts to the players and their parents and presenting videos. In Dr. Lucenko's opinion, the failure of the coaching staff and management of the high school to provide these readily available visual aids was, in itself, a deviation from accepted standards of care.
Dr. Lucenko also stated that it was the coach=s responsibility to inspect the players' equipment to insure that they fit properly. The plaintiff indicated that he put the helmet on himself and was assured that it met the fitting standard. No one inspected the fit and no one inspected the helmet. Clearly, the coaches did not apply appropriate inspection techniques. Dr. Lucenko concluded that team management was contrary to proper coaching standards. Philips v. Hawthorne Board of Education, Newton Board of Education, et al
