As reported by the Oklahoman, a mother has settled a lawsuit in regards to the death of her 16 year-old son, who collapsed after exercising in excessive heat at his new high school and died a day later.
L.P. accepted a settlement of $97,500 from Putnam City Public Schools.
The suit was originally filed a year ago, and has now been dismissed by the Oklahoma County District Court due to the settlement agreement.
T.P., 16 at the time of his death on August 21, 2010, had collapsed on August 20 during a school-supervised 3.1 mile run. The running course was at a park across the street from the Putman City High School. The run was for a group of students conditioning for spring sports.
T.P.'s cause of death was listed as hyperthermia.
Allegedly the temperature at the time of the run was above 100 degrees.
The incident occurred on T.P.'s second day attending Putnam. He and his mother had moved two weeks earlier from their home in Washington, D.C.
According to the lawsuit L.P. contends that the high school coaches had not been supervising her son "during the most dangerous part of the run." L.P. further stated that she had not given her permission for her son to participate in the run, nor had the school made sure that he had completed a physical examination.
In his legal brief Stephen Bachman, L.P.'s attorney, wrote that his client "who had been waiting at the school to pick up her son, had no idea (T.P.) was participating in the run. She finally drove to the park after having her son paged. She drove into the park and observed coaches (N.J.) and (J.J.) sitting on the grass and playing with their dog. (L.P.) was then told to go back to the school as that was where (T.P.) was. As she drove back to the school, she observed an ambulance pulling in to the park and followed the ambulance, to discover her son, who had collapsed as a result of prolonged heat exposure."
Laura Holmes, the attorney representing Putnam City Public Schools, said, "It is not possible for a cross country coach to have eyes on every participant at every second of a run. There were coaches present and monitoring to ensure that all students ... were accounted for at the end of the run."
Holmes added, "Speculation that more supervision would have prevented this accident is without merit. Every year, there are incidents where people under close supervision suffer from heat-related illnesses and die. Such deaths are not caused by the lack of supervision but by the heat."
Holmes and Bachman confirmed that insurance funds covered the settlement amount. Both attorneys, and L.P., refused further comment.
L.P. has since moved back to Washington, D.C.
The attorney handling T.P.'s probate case disclosed the settlement amount, and said that legal fees and expenses associated with the lawsuit were paid out of the $97,500 settlement.
Loosing a loved one in wrongful death is grounds for a lawsuit. Contact a personal injury lawyer to file your lawsuit and seek compensation for your damages!