Michael P. Hernandez, a founding partner of HHJ Trial Attorneys, was featured by the New York Post for his legal insights on a case in which a player died after a devastating injury while playing football.
Christopher Aiden Garcia, a 16-year-old football player at South East High School in South Gate, California, had a catastrophic brain injury due to a “textbook tackle”. Despite 11 days of continuous emergency medical treatment, the young athlete sadly passed away because of the injury.
Following the teenager’s demise, the family reports to the court, alleging that LAUSD failed to provide safe facilities, proper equipment, and adequate supervision. They ask the court to decide whether the accident was an inherent risk of football or a wrongful death caused by failure of football-field maintenance.
In accordance with this, personal injury attorney Michael Hernandez first points to California’s doctrine of Primary Assumption of Risk. He states, “California follows a doctrine called primary assumption of risk. A player who steps onto a football field accepts the risks that are inherent to the sport itself”.
At the same time, Hernandez explains the limits of this protection for LAUSD, emphasizing that a hard, poorly maintained playing surface is not necessarily an inherent risk of football. Rather, it may represent a maintenance or safety failure, which is the critical distinction in determining whether liability may arise.
