Brown v. El Dorado Union High School District (Mar. 29,2022, C088204) __ Cal.App.5th __ [2022 WL 908883]
Plaintiff suffered a head injury during a high school football game. Before the season began, plaintiff and his father signed a comprehensive release agreement under which they expressly assumed the risk of injury during all football-related activities. Plaintiff sued, claiming that the school district was responsible for his injuries because the school’s coaches did not properly educate him about the risks of a head injury, did not supervise him properly during the game, and allowed him to play too long, and because plaintiff was provided inadequate medical care once his injury became apparent. The trial court granted the school district’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the claims were barred by the release of liability and by the common law doctrine of primary assumption of risk.
The Court of Appeal affirmed. The court held that a liability release is enforceable except where a plaintiff proves gross negligence, which requires the defendant to have acted with “so slight a degree of care as to raise a presumption of conscious indifference to the consequences.” Here, the plaintiff did not create a triable issue of fact under this standard because it was undisputed that the district’s coaches monitored plaintiff during the game and plaintiff was provided adequate medical care after he collapsed.
Horvitz & Levy represented the defendant on appeal.
