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Claim for School Injury Compensation Settled Out of Court

A student, who sustained severe a severe brain injury while playing high school American football, has had his claim for school injury compensation settled out of court for 4.4 million dollars.  

Scott Eveland, now 22, of San Marcos, California, collapsed at the side of the school´s playing field during the half-time interval of a high school American football game in September 2007. Scott was rushed to hospital where he was diagnosed with internal bleeding of the brain and underwent an emergency operation to save his life.

Despite more than a year of rehabilitation, Scott is still unable to walk or stand and can only communicate through a specially designed keyboard. Through his mother – Diane – Scott made a personal injury claim against the district education authority, alleging that the coaches of his football team had ignored warning signs of his condition and forced him to play.

The claim for school injury compensation was supported by a teammate, who testified in a deposition that Scott had missed several practice sessions complaining of headaches and had asked the head coach to sit out the game during which he collapsed because he was feeling unwell.

After their own investigation, the San Marcos Unified School District and Mission Hills High School – the school for which Scott played as a linebacker – agreed to settle Scott´s claim for school injury compensation without admission of liability.