The Lanier Law Firm negotiated a settlement for the family of a former Rice University student-athlete in a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) that will help save college athletes’ lives for years to come. Media outlets across the globe reported the historic settlement, including USA Today and Sports Illustrated, among others.
The Lanier
Law Firm’s Gene Egdorf
represented the family of Dale Lloyd II, a 19-year old student who died in
September 2006 following practice with the Rice University football team.
Medical examiners ruled that his death was caused by “acute exertional
rhabdomyolysis secondary to sickle cell trait.” Neither Mr. Lloyd nor his
family knew that Mr. Lloyd carried the sickle cell trait, and the NCAA did not
require testing for the trait in 2006 despite numerous reports of other deaths
attributed to the condition. As a result of the litigation and settlement, the
NCAA agreed for the first time to include in the NCAA Website and the NCAA
Sports Medical Handbook a recommendation that university athletic departments
test all athletes for the sickle cell trait. The NCAA also agreed to insert a
“Point of Emphasis” regarding sickle cell testing in its Football
Rulebook in conjunction with a press conference to highlight the policy change.
In addition, the NCAA is producing an educational video for coaches, athletic
trainers and student athletes about the dangers of the sickle cell trait, and
providing a $50,000 donation to the Sickle
Cell Disease Association of America and a $10,000 donation to the Dale R. Lloyd II Scholarship
Fund. The firm has contributed $20,000 to the scholarship fund in
recognition of the Lloyd family.
