Personal Injury Law

Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed After GSU Basketball Player?s Death

By Michael

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Grambling State University after a basketball player died last August following a ?punishment? run of four miles in high heat without water.

Henry White, 21, became ill on Aug. 14 after participating in what was described by a university statement as a ?conditioning drill.? About two weeks later, White died while being treated at the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, according to the Monroe, La.-based News Star.

About one month after White?s death, GSU fired men?s basketball head coach Rick Duckett, as well as assistant coaches Phillip Stitt and Steve Portland.

The wrongful death lawsuit names Grambling, its advisory board and the Louisiana Board of Trustees of State Colleges as defendants. The suit does not, however, include any of the coaches who were supervising the team, the Associated Press reported.

The personal injury lawsuit was filed on behalf of White?s mother, Natalie Wood, and claimed that Portland forced other players to run the distance in 100 degree heat for ?failing to timely register? for classes. Nicknamed the ?Tiger Max,? the run is supposed to be completed in less than 40 minutes, according to the News Star.

Water was not made available to the White and the others during the run, and no supervisors or trainers were with them during the exercise, according to the lawsuit.

White collapsed during the run and was taken to the university?s assembly center, according to the AP. Other players tried to wake him back up by pouring water on him. According to the lawsuit, Portland ?made no attempt to intervene or call for assistance.?

White slipped into a coma and remained unconscious until he passed away on Aug. 26.

?I’ve been practicing law close to 20 years and this is the most egregious example of institutional failure that I have encountered,? Wood?s attorney Larry English said in a prepared statement. ?The results of that failure was the death of a young man.?

White?s mother was left with about $300,000 in medical costs for his treatment. The suit does not ask for a specific amount of money for damages, English said.

The University of Louisiana System, which oversees eight state universities including Grambling, did not offer any comment about the suit. A ULS spokesperson said the organization does not make public comment about pending legal cases.

The 6′6” White was considered a standout player within high school prep sports circles, playing at Marshalltown Community College and then at Hill Junior College in Texas during his sophomore year before being recruited to play for the GSU Tigers.

Full post as published by The Injury Blog on February 08, 2010 (boomark / email).