v. Case No. COMPLAINT Now comes your Plaintiff, Patrick Clancy, by Emily Clancy, his Next Friend, and states the

Transcription

1 VIRGINIA IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE PATRICK CLANCY, By EMILY CLANCY, his Mother and Next Friend, Plaintiff v. Case No. MATTHEW PEARMAN, and STUART PIERSON, Defendants COMPLAINT Now comes your Plaintiff, Patrick Clancy, by Emily Clancy, his Next Friend, and states the following to the Court: 1. Patrick Clancy is a minor. 2. Emily Clancy is the mother of Patrick Clancy. 3. Matthew Pearman, in July, 2017, was the Athletic Director at Monticello High School ( the School ), employed by the Albemarle County Public Schools ( ACPS ). 4. Stuart Pierson, in July, 2017, was the coach of the boy s soccer team at Monticello High School ( the Team ), employed by ACPS. 5. Plaintiff Patrick Clancy and his brother Ryan Clancy were both members of the Team. 1

2 6. On July 21, 2017, the Team was having a pre-season practice, conducted by and under the supervision of Defendant Pierson. 7. The Team practices were held on the synthetic turf field of the football stadium. 8. According to Penn State s Center for Sports Surface Research, the surface temperature of a synthetic turf field may be as much as 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the ambient air temperature, up to as much as 160º Fahrenheit. 9. The surface temperature of a synthetic turf field may be as much as 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the surface temperature of a grass field under the same conditions, and the air temperature experienced by players on a synthetic turf field can be substantially higher than on a grass field under the same conditions. 10. One goal of the pre-season practices was to acclimate the Team members to playing soccer in the heat, so that when full Team practices began in August, the Team members bodies would have adjusted to playing in the heat. 11. According to guidance from the National Federation of High School Associations, provided by the VHSL to all ACPS coaches, it takes at least days to acclimate to hot weather conditions. 12. The practice on July 21, 2017, was the 7 th practice for the Team, and the 4 th attended by Patrick Clancy. He had not attended any practices in a week, a fact that Defendant Pierson either knew or should have known. 13. Athletes who have not become acclimatized to the heat will be less tolerant of extreme heat, and at greater risk of exertional heat illness. 14. On July 20, 2017, it had been extremely hot, reaching 97 degrees Fahrenheit in Charlottesville, and the National Weather Service had posted a heat advisory for the Central Virginia area, 2

3 including Charlottesville and Albemarle County, for the afternoon of July 20, 2017, resuming at 10:00 AM on July 21, The Team practiced beginning at 8:00 AM on July 21, 2017, at the football stadium at Monticello High School, in full sun. 16. At 8:00 AM, the air temperature in the Charlottesville area, including around Monticello High School, was already over 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and humidity was approximately 70%. There was little wind, and it was sunny. 17. The National Weather Service calculates a heat index, as a function of the temperature and humidity. The NWS also states that Since heat index values were devised for shady, light wind conditions, exposure to full sunshine can increase heat index values by up to 15º F. 18. At the beginning of the practice, the NWS heat index, before being adjusted for it being in full sun, was approximately 83º; the NWS chart recommends caution at that temperature. Adding in the effect of synthetic turf and full sun, the NWS heat index would be between 107º and 120º Fahrenheit, and the NWS chart characterizes that high a temperature as presenting a danger of a heat disorder. 19. At the beginning of the practice, the estimated Wet Bulb Globe Temperature, as estimated using the methodology of the United States Soccer Federation, was about 84 degrees, already less than ideal conditions, requiring 3 separate 4-minute breaks each hour, or a 12-minute break for every 40 minutes of practice. 20. The temperature continued to rise throughout the time of the practice, and by the end of the practice, the air temperature was approximately 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with relative humidity of about 57%. 21. By the end of the practice, the NWS full sun heat index on a synthetic turf field would have been between 124º and 139º, a level characterized by the NWS as extreme danger. 3

4 22. By the end of practice, the estimated Wet Bulb Globe Temperature, as estimated using the methodology of the United States Soccer Federation, was about 90 degrees, right at the borderline between Moderate Risk for Heat Related Illness and High Risk for Heat Related Illness. At that level, additional rests and limits on practicing are recommended. 23. All ACPS coaches are responsible for being familiar with and complying with the Virginia High School League ( VHSL ) Heat Guidelines. 24. All ACPS coaches are instructed to have a cooler of cold water at every practice, and the players are to fill up their water bottles from the provided cold water. 25. All conditioning and out-of-season practices must be scheduled by a coach with the prior approval of the Athletic Director. 26. According to the VHSL Heat Guidelines, Often, the most critical times to monitor athletes ability to exercise in hot weather occurs when the temperature rises quickly during the early morning prior to the sun burning off the humidity. 27. During the practice, the members of the team were running almost constantly, by design. 28. That morning, other athletic teams in the Central Virginia area either canceled practices that day, or held them indoors and out of the sun. 29. The Team did not provide water for the members of the Team during the practice, requiring that they bring their own water. 30. Each member of the Team was told to bring 2 liters of water; Patrick Clancy brought 2 liters of water, as directed. 31. The Team did not provide any shaded place to keep the water cool. 4

5 32. There was no shade available during the water breaks, so when the members of the Team took a water break, they were required to run to their hot water, drink from their water bottles while continuing to stand on the blazing hot artificial turf field, and then run back to the practice. 33. The practice was conducted without a trainer present. 34. The practice was conducted without any way to cool down the members of the Team if they became overheated. 35. Defendant Pierson had no way to monitor the hydration, health and water consumption of the players throughout the practice, and did not in fact monitor the hydration, health and water consumption of the players throughout the practice. 36. The dynamics of the player/coach relationship during these early practices meant that the members of the Team were constantly in "tryout" mode and that as a result they would not regulate their own heat exposure to avoid injury. 37. Defendant Pierson failed to recognize that Patrick, and other members of the Team, were suffering from exposure to excessive heat. 38. There was no first aid equipment available that was capable of cooling any member of the Team who became overheated. 39. During the practice, Patrick stopped perspiring, and became seriously ill. By the end of the practice, he had a bad headache, he was nauseous, and he had difficulty walking, or even thinking. 40. At the end of practice, Defendant Pierson gathered the players on the artificial turf field. He noticed that Plaintiff was out of water, and, in front of the entire Team, ridiculed him for having brought only one 2-liter container of water, telling him that Your mother must love Ryan more because Ryan had a bigger container of water. 5

6 41. Defendant Pierson failed to notice that Patrick had stopped perspiring. 42. Defendant Pierson instructed the entire team including Patrick to pick up all of the training equipment scattered around the turf field, all well after 10:00 AM and after the heat advisory warning had been reactivated. 43. Patrick s older brother drove him home, and when he got to his home, he still had a severe headache and severe nausea. He could not walk, he could not talk, and he was not perspiring. His mother immediately went to put him into a cold shower, and before he got into the shower, his fingers and toes began turning blue. He was unable to stand in the shower; he collapsed on the floor and began throwing up. His mother moved him to a cold bathtub to submerge him in an effort to cool him off rapidly. His hands and feet began turning even more blue, he vomited again, and was gasping for air. He was not responding to emergency treatment, and his family rushed him to the hospital where he was given IV fluids and was cooled down. He almost died at home, but prompt emergency care by his mother and medical care at the hospital saved his life. 44. Patrick was diagnosed as suffering from exertional heat illness. 45. Patrick suffered exertional heat illness because of the negligence and gross negligence of Defendants Pearman and Pierson. 46. As a result of suffering exertional heat illness, Patrick Clancy has suffered temporary and permanent injury and disability, including long-term consequences that prohibit him from playing summer sports or exposing himself to the kind of heat that is characteristic of springs and summers in Central Virginia. He must take care, probably for the rest of his life, not to allow himself to become overheated. He and his family have sustained significant medical bills as a result of having suffered exertional heat illness. 6

7 Violations of Standard of Care by Defendant Pierson 47. There has been extensive research on how to minimize exertional heat illness, and coaches and athletic departments are trained about how to avoid exertional heat illness for teenage athletes. Such research, in which the Defendants were trained, sets the standard of care of coaches and athletic directors in safeguarding the health of the athletes under their protection. That research, and those policies, include: A. The Virginia High School League Heat Guidelines ( VHSL Guidelines ); B. The 2000 National Athletic Trainers Association Position Statement: Fluid Replacement for Athletes ( NATA Statement ); C. The United States Soccer Federation Heat Guidelines ( USSF Guidelines); D. The Synthetic Turf Council s Guidelines for Minimizing the Risk of Heat- Related Illness ( STC Guidelines ); E. The National Federation of State High School Associations and the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee Position Statement and Recommendations for Maintaining Hydration to Optimize Performance and Minimize the Risk for Exertional Heat Illness ( NFHSA/SMAC Recommendations ); F. The National Federation of State High School Associations Heat Acclimatization and Heat Illness Prevention Position Statement, provided to ACPS by the VHSL ( NFHSA Heat Illness Statement ); G. The Korey Stringer Institute s 5 Pillars of Exertional Heat Stroke Prevention ( KSI 5 Pillars ); and H. Defendant Pearman s Monticello High School Athletics handout to all coaches ( MHS handout ). 7

8 48. The standard of care for soccer coaches requires the following: A. Conducting practices indoors, limiting practices, or canceling practices, when the heat on the practice field is expected to be excessive, see VHSL Guidelines, NATA Statement, USSF Guidelines and MHS handout; B. Establishing a hydration protocol specific to the sport and to the surface on which the athletes will be practicing or playing, see VHSL Guidelines and NATA Statement; C. Particularly in pre-season condition and acclimatization workouts, the conditioning and acclimatization level of each player must be monitored, and the hydration protocol must reflect the individual characteristics of each player, see NATA Statement, USSF Guidelines, NFHSA Heat Illness Statement and KSI 5 Pillars; D. Educating the athletes on exertional heat illness, how to prevent it, how to recognize it, and how to treat it, see VHSL Guidelines, NATA Statement and KSI 5 Pillars; E. Providing cold water for the players to drink, see VHSL Guidelines, NATA Statement, KSI 5 Pillars and MHS handout; F. Not relying on the players to bring their own water, see VHSL Guidelines, NATA Statement, and MHS handout; G. Ensuring that all players begin practice adequately hydrated, see VHSL Guidelines, NATA Statement, NFHSA/SMAC Recommendations, and KSI 5 Pillars; 8

9 H. Monitoring the fluid replacement of the players, see NATA Statement and NFHSA/SMAC Recommendations; I. Having available, and consulting, a Wet Bulb Globe Temperature thermometer to help assess the need for cooling and hydration, see VHSL Guidelines, NATA Statement, STC Guidelines, NFHSA/SMAC Recommendations, and KSI 5 Pillars; J. When practicing or playing on synthetic turf, having an infrared thermometer available to measure the temperature of the turf, see STC Guidelines; K. When practicing or playing on synthetic turf, in fact consulting an infrared thermometer to measure the temperature of the turf, see STC Guidelines; L. Requiring frequent water and shade breaks, adjusted to the temperature, the surface on which the players are playing, and their level of acclimatization, to allow players a chance to cool down, see VHSL Guidelines, NATA Statement, USSF Guidelines, STC Guidelines, NFHSA Heat Illness Statement, KSI 5 Pillars; M. If the players are going to be practicing or playing in extreme heat conditions, having large misting fans or other ways to cool them down, see STC Guidelines and KSI 5 Pillars; N. Having available a written Emergency Action Plan and adequate first aid equipment, to allow the evaluation and immediate treatment of heat-related illness, see NATA Statement, NFHSA Heat Illness Statement, and KSI 5 Pillars; and 9

10 O. Having a trainer present during practices to monitor the health of the players, with particular attention to the signs or heat-related illness, and to be able to treat any player showing signs of heat-related illness, see NATA Statement and USSF Guidelines. 49. The actions and omissions of Coach Pierson, as enumerated above, violated the Heat Guidelines of the Virginia High School League, the recommendations of the National Athletic Trainers Association concerning fluid replacement, the United States Soccer Federation Heat Guidelines, the recommendations of the Synthetic Turf Council, the recommendations of the National Federation of State High School Associations and the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, the recommendations of the National Federation of State High School Associations in its Heat Acclimatization and Heat Illness Prevention Position Statement, the recommendations of the Korey Stringer Institute, and the rules of the Defendant Pearman in his MHS handout. 50. Defendant Pierson violated the standard of care for high school soccer coaches in his conduct of the practice, including, but not limited to, in the following respects: A. Conducting the practice outdoors on a synthetic turf field on a day, and at a time, when it had been predicted that the heat would be excessive, during the second day of a National Weather Service Heat Advisory; B. Failing to establish a hydration protocol for each player that considered the unique features of soccer, the synthetic turf on which the soccer team played and practiced, and the individual characteristics of each player, including their degree of acclimatization to the heat; 10

11 C. Conducting the practice without assuring that all Team members were beginning practice well hydrated; D. Conducting the practice without providing adequate cold water, but instead limiting players to only the water that they had brought, or to what other players might share with them; E. Conducting the practice with no shade available; F. Conducting the practice without a trainer present; G. Conducting the practice without being sufficiently attentive to the well-being of the members of the Team; H. Conducting the practice without large, portable misting fans, or any other way to help the players cool down; I. Conducting the practice without a Wet Bulb Thermometer present to allow him to assess the risk to the members of the Team from practicing in extremely hot and humid weather; J. Conducting the practice without an infrared thermometer to read the surface temperatures and to make appropriate adjustments to practice schedules, as recommended by the Synthetic Turf Manufacturers Association; K. Failing to actively monitor the hydration, health and water consumption of the players throughout the practice; L. Not requiring the members of the Team to take breaks in the shade, off of the artificial turf surface that likely reached temperatures of over 130 degrees, to perhaps as high as 160 degrees; 11

12 M. Failing to recognize that the dynamics of the player/coach relationship during these early practices meant that the members of the Team were constantly in "tryout" mode and that as a result they would not regulate their own heat exposure to avoid injury; N. Failing to recognize that Patrick, and other members of the Team, were suffering from exposure to excessive heat; O. Failing to have a written Emergency Action Plan and adequate first aid equipment available to respond properly to signs of exertional heat illness; P. Failing to recognize that Patrick and at least one other member of the Team were suffering from symptoms of exertional heat illness; and Q. Failure to administer proper first aid treatment for Patrick and the other members of the Team who were suffering from symptoms of exertional heat illness. Violations of Standard of Care by Defendant Pearman 51. All practices are conducted under the responsibility of, and subject to the control of, the Athletic Director. 52. Defendant Pearman knew that the Team was having a practice at 8:00 AM on July 21, In his supervisory capacity, Defendant Pearman knew that the manner in which Defendant Pierson was carrying out his duties as soccer coach on July 21, 2017, violated the standard of care for soccer coaches, as set forth in paragraph Defendant Pearman either knew or should have known: 12

13 A. That the Team would be practicing outdoors on a synthetic turf field on a day, and at a time, when it had been predicted that the heat would be excessive, during the second day of a National Weather Service Heat Advisory; B. That the Team had not established a hydration protocol specific to the sport of soccer, to the fact that they would be practicing on a synthetic turf field, or specific to the characteristics of individual players, including their level of acclimatization to the heat; C. That the School was not going to be providing ice or cold water for the members of the Team during the practice; D. That the School provided no shade to the Team practicing on the artificial turf surface; E. That the School did not provide a trainer or any other adult other than the coach who could be paying attention to the well-being of the members of the Team; G. That the School provided no large, portable misting fans, or any other way to help the players cool down; H. That although the School had a Wet Bulb Thermometer, it was not kept at the site of the practice to allow the coach to assess the risk to the members of the Team from practicing in extremely hot and humid weather; I. That the School did not provide to a coach conducting an outdoor practice an infrared thermometer to read the surface temperatures and to make appropriate adjustments to practice schedules; 13

14 J. That Coach Pierson would be unable to actively monitor the hydration, health and water consumption of the players throughout the practice; K. That the members of the Team would not be able to take breaks in the shade, off of the artificial turf surface that likely reached temperatures of over 130 degrees, to perhaps as much as 160 degrees; L. That the dynamics of the player/coach relationship during these early practices meant that the members of the Team were constantly in "tryout" mode and that as a result they would not regulate their own heat exposure to avoid injury; and M. That the School had not provided adequate first aid equipment for the practice to protect the members of the Team against exertional heat illness. 55. Athletic Director Pearman either knew or should have known that Coach Pierson was violating the recommendations and guidelines of the Virginia High School League, the National Athletic Trainers Association, the United States Soccer Federation, the Synthetic Turf Council, the National Federation of State High School Associations and the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, the Korey Stringer Institute, and his own rules in his MHS handout. 56. Athletic Director Pearman either knew or should have known that Coach Pierson was violating the standard of care for soccer coaches. 57. By failing to adequately supervise the conduct of the practice on July 21, 2017, and by failing to assure that the practice on July 21, 2017, was going to be conducted in a manner that did not endanger the health and safety of the players, Athletic Director Pearman violated the standard of care for Athletic Directors. 14

15 COUNT ONE Negligence 58. The allegations of paragraphs 1 through 57 are incorporated by reference. 59. The Defendants had a duty to Patrick Clancy to conduct the soccer practice at Monticello High School on July 21, 2017, safely, and they failed to do so. 60. The actions and omissions of the Defendants fell below the standard of care required of coaches and athletic directors. 61. The negligence of the Defendants caused serious and permanent injury to Plaintiff Patrick Clancy. WHEREFORE, your Plaintiff demands judgment of Defendants in the amount of $1,000,000 (One Million Dollars), together with interest and his costs incurred herein. COUNT TWO Gross Negligence 62. The allegations of paragraphs 1 through 57 are incorporated by reference. 63. The Defendants had a duty to Patrick Clancy to conduct the soccer practice at Monticello High School on July 21, 2017, safely, and they failed to do so. 64. The actions and omissions of the Defendants fell below the standard of care required of coaches and athletic directors. 65. Defendants did not even demonstrate scant care for the well-being of Plaintiff Patrick Clancy on July 21, The gross negligence of the Defendants caused serious and permanent injury to Plaintiff Patrick Clancy. 15

16 WHEREFORE, your Plaintiff demands judgment of Defendants in the amount of $1,000,000 (One Million Dollars), together with interest and his costs incurred herein. PATRICK CLANCY, BY EMILY CLANCY, HIS MOTHER AND NEXT FRIEND By Counsel J. Lloyd Snook, III VSB No Snook & Haughey, P.C. 408 East Market Street, Suite 107 P.O. Box 2486 Charlottesville, VA (434) (434) (fax) 16