Richland SC jury awards $4.8 million in high school football heat injury case

A Richland County jury has awarded $4.8 million in a case involving a Lower Richland High ninth-grade football player who suffered a severe heat stroke in June 2022 and collapsed on a hot day during an outdoor practice.

The verdict found Richland School District One “grossly negligent” in causing the student’s heat-related injuries, according to the jury form. Another defendant, the South Carolina High School League, was dismissed from the case in recent weeks.

The jury was out nearly six hours and returned its verdict late Friday after the courthouse closed for the day. State Judge Daniel Coble presided. About 10 witnesses testified during the trial, which started last Tuesday, July 21.

The student, Jordan Stroud, had to be put in a medically-induced coma for 10 days and was in a hospital in all nearly two months. He suffered lasting damages from his injuries, according to evidence in the case.

The verdict comes at a time when high schools around South Carolina are gearing up for the football fall season and practicing in the summer heat. Schools and coaches are supposed to take steps to protect players when temperatures get too high.

“Heat-related illness is an incredibly preventable thing,” attorney Chase Keibler said in an interview after the trial. He tried the case with co-counsel Jessica Monsell.

“June 13, 2022, was a record-breaking day. It was the hottest June 13 in the Midlands. It didn’t hit the record until 5 o’clock, but it was an incredibly hot day,” Keibler said.

One heat-caused injury whittled the four muscles in Stroud’s shin and calf down to just a portion of one muscle remaining, Keibler said. The condition affects his ability to walk correctly, and he now walks with a brace and has an elevated risk of developing heart issues and arthritic conditions in his hips, ankles and knees, Keibler said.

On the day of the heat stroke, Stroud showed signs of being affected by the heat, but officials kept Stroud on the field “until he passed out,” the lawsuit said.

At that time, Stroud was a rising freshman, tall and athletic, who excelled at basketball and wanted to try out for the football team, according to the lawsuit.

Stroud, who is now 19, was one of the witnesses who testified during the trial.

“He testified about his injuries, overcoming them and what the future holds,” Keibler said.

Other witnesses included two doctors, a climatologist and various Lower Richland and Richland School District One school and athletic and football officials.

According to the lawsuit:

School officials ignored or failed to check that day’s high Wet Bulb Glove Temperature (WBGT), which is supposed to be checked throughout each outdoor activity. The WBGT takes into consideration many more factors than just the temperature on the field and is supposed to provide a guideline for when athletics are to be canceled, postponed, or modified due to extreme risk of extreme heat stroke. If the WBGT temperature is above 92.1 degrees, practice is supposed to be canceled. That day, the temperatures exceeded 92.1 degrees.
Officials failed to implement a heat acclimatization plan, whereby the student-athletes could become used to the heat over a period of time.
On the day of the heat stroke, football officials failed to have heat stroke preventative measures, such as a cold water immersion tub, on the field.
The school district showed “a deliberate indifference to the lives of student-athletes and show a drastic failure to train and supervise their staff about heat-related illnesses.”

In an amended answer to the lawsuit, Richland School District One denied any negligence on its officials’ part and contended that it did not ignore the temperatures on the day Stroud has his stroke. The district also denied it failed to have proper heat stroke preventative measures on that day. It also denied being indifferent to the lives of student-athletes.

The district also asserted that any injuries were the fault of Stroud and his mother, Ashley Stroud Collins, who filed the suit on his behalf. It asked the jury, if it found the district liable, to consider assigning a percentage of blame to the Strouds.

Keibler said that “acclimatization” — or, getting used to extreme heat — is a “great first step to prevent” heat-related injuries for football players.

“It takes seven to 10 days to acclimatize a student-athlete to both the heat and the physical activity,” Keibler said. “We know from data that football is 11 times more likely to have an athlete collapse from a heat illness than all other sports combined.”

“We know most heat-related injuries happen in the first week of practice, and we know linemen and larger individuals are most susceptible,” Keibler said. “Just keep an eye out … and protect your players.”

Richland SC jury awards $4.8 million in high school football heat injury case

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