Orange County

 

(31) ENOCK PLANCHER, as Personal Representative of the Estate of ERECK MICHAEL PLANCHER, II, Deceased vs. UCF ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION, INC. (Circuit Court of Orange County, Florida)

 

County/Docket #/Judge: Orange / 2009–CA-007444-O / Robert M. Evans

 

Plaintiff(s) Attorney(s): C. Steven Yerrid and David D. Dickey of The Yerrid Law Firm, Tampa, FL; J.D. Dowell and Jeff Murphy of Pitisci, Dowell, et al., P.A., Tampa, FL

 

Defendant(s) Attorney(s): Daniel A. Shapiro, Sally Slaybaugh, and Anne Sullivan of Cole, Scott et al., P.A., Tampa, FL; Kevin S. Taylor, and Jorge Martinez of Taylor Anderson, LLC, Denver, CO; Jordan Clark, Office of General Counsel, University of Central Florida

 

Age/Sex/Occupation Of Plaintiff: Ereck Plancher: 19 / M / College student

 

Cause Of Injury: Negligence/Student Athlete Death From Sickling Crisis/Lack of Precautions by Athletic Department. Plaintiff Enock Plancher claimed that on March 18, 2008, his son Ereck Michael Plancher, who was on a full athletic scholarship to the University of Central Florida (UCF), was participating as a member of the football team in an off-season conditioning session that required intense physical exertion. Ereck, who had tested positive for sickle cell trait, experienced a sickling crisis, collapsed and died.

 

UCF allegedly had a policy in place at that time that required African-American athletes to undergo mandatory blood screening for sickle cell trait, a generally benign condition in everyday life that can pose significant clinical concerns for athletes if proper steps and precautions are not followed. Ereck’s initial screening taken in January of 2007 was positive for sickle cell trait but these test results were not provided to him or the sports medicine department until after his death. In June of 2007, UCF’s head athletic trainer for football noticed that Ereck did not have the required sickle cell screening test result in his sports medicine file. Ereck was directed to obtain another laboratory screening test. The results were again positive and provided to the UCF’s Sports Medicine Department. UCF’s policies and procedures for athletes with positive for sickle cell trait results, required: (a) the athletes to be informed of their sickle cell trait status; (b) the athletes would be given counseling including seeing a team physician; (c) coaches, trainers and team physicians were to be notified of their condition; (d) modifications would be allowed to avoid exertional sickling during intensive exercise; and (e) a player suspected of suffering from exertional sickling to be treated as experiencing a medical emergency.

 

Plaintiff asserted that UCF was negligent for: (a) failure to inform Ereck he had tested positive for sickle cell trait; (b) failure to inform team physicians, coaches, certified athletic trainers, and others that Ereck had tested positive for sickle cell trait; (c) failure to provide appropriate counseling to Ereck regarding the risks, precautions and symptoms relating to sickle cell trait; (d) failure to inform, counsel, or educate coaches, certified athletic trainers, and sports medicine staff regarding the risks, precautions and symptoms to avoid a sickling collapse; (e) failure to educate sports medicine staff, coaches or trainers about sickle cell trait, about exercise modification, intervention and emergency management for a player with sickle cell trait; or (f) failure to follow appropriate procedures and timely respond when Ereck showed signs and symptoms of physical distress during the conditioning session.

 

On the day of his death, Ereck and the rest of the team allegedly endured a particularly grueling practice that was described as “punishment” and in which neither water nor trainers were readily available. Ereck was observed having difficulty breathing and falling to the ground. When he was called out by coaches for his performance, he allegedly could not speak but was not given medical attention. When he eventually became incoherent and collapsed, emergency personnel were called. Plaintiff claimed that Ereck died approximately one hour and twenty-five minutes after his initial signs of sickling distress began.

 

Based upon evidence that Coach George O’Leary knew Ereck had sickle cell trait, that he ordered water and trainers away from the players, and the importance of both to sickle cell trait athletes, prior to trial, the court permitted plaintiff to amend the complaint to add a count for punitive damages.

 

Nature Of Injury: Death caused by complications from sickle cell trait.

 

Expert Witnesses: 

Plaintiff's: 

Barry J. Maron, M.D., Cardiology, Minneapolis, MN

Douglas J. Casa, Ph.D., Certified Athletic Training, Storrs, CT

Andy Swenson, Forensic Computer Analyst, Safety Harbor, FL

Randy Eichner, M.D., Internal Medicine/Hematology/Sports Medicine, Sonoma, CA

Daniel J. Spitz, M.D., Forensic Pathologist/Medical Examiner, Clinton Township, MI

Bruce Mitchell, M.D., Internal Medicine/Hematology, Atlanta, GA

 

Defendant's: 

Azorides Morales, M.D., Cardiac Pathologist, Miami, FL

Robert Myerburg, M.D., Cardiology, Miami, FL

Martin H. Steinberg, M.D., Hematology, Boston, MA

John A. Kark, M.D., Hematology, Philadelphia, PA

Jeffrey Monroe, Certified Athletic Training, East Lansing, MI

 

Verdict: $10,000,000 for Plaintiff on June 30, 2011.