Hartsville player’s family files wrongful-death suit
The mother and father of a Hartsville High School student athlete, who died on the playing field in 2012, filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday against several agencies, locally and statewide. The family demanded a jury trial in the case.
Ronald Rouse, an 18-year-old senior football player, collapsed twice on the field Oct. 5, 2012 during a home game against Crestwood while his parents looked on. Rouse would eventually be pronounced dead at Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center.
His parents, Yvonne Rouse and Ronald Rouse Sr., claimed in the lawsuit that the S.C. Board of Education, Darlington County Board of Education, Hartsville High School, S.C. High School League, Lake Robinson Rescue Squad, Darlington County Emergency Preparedness and Darlington County exhibited negligence in regard to policies and actions throughout a sequence of events which ended with Rouse’s death.
Five causes of action are listed in the lawsuit: wrongful death, a survival action on behalf of the deceased, negligent infliction of emotional distress, unfair and deceptive practices, and breach of contract with an intended third-party beneficiary.
The Darlington County School District said its policies outline that it cannot comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit outlined a timeline beginning with a physical Rouse took on May 15, 2012, at Hartsville High School. It claimed a physician circled the 6-foot-1, 334-pound teenager’s blood pressure on his physical form. The lawsuit stated Rouse’s blood pressure was listed as 157/74.
“This high blood pressure seemed to be considered as questionable in light of someone circling it on the form; however, Rouse was approved or ‘cleared’ to participate in all sports,” the lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit said Rouse was never informed of potentially having high blood pressure, and stated Rouse complained of feeling faint during periods of physical stress at the time.
On an unspecified date following the physical, the lawsuit stated Rouse fainted in the “middle of the summer.” It did not specify if Rouse fainted in the presence of school officials, but stated officials were made aware of the fainting and “nothing was done to address it.”
A conversation between Hartsville coach Jeff Calabrese and Rouse is described in the lawsuit, during which Calabrese asked Rouse how he was feeling and instructed him to stay hydrated and take it easy.
When Rouse collapsed on the field following a kickoff on Oct. 5, 2012, the lawsuit claimed the school’s athletic trainer helped revive him and began helping him off the field. Before reaching the sideline, Rouse collapsed a final time.
His parents believe Rouse should have been administered oxygen before leaving the playing field, blaming both trainers and “team doctors” who were present and the Lake Robinson Rescue Squad, which was not present. The rescue squad arrived about nine minutes after someone at the game called 911.
The lawsuit claimed the Lake Robinson Rescue Squad had previously entered into an agreement with the school district to be present at Hartsville High home football games for the 2012-13 season at a pay rate of $1,000 per game.
The lawsuit stated that athletic trainers “are supposed to be aware that young, male African-American athletes are susceptible to a medical problem called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).” An autopsy listed HCM as his cause of death, according to his parents.
The Hartsville High football team dedicated the rest of the 2012 season to Rouse, and went on to finish 15-0 and win a Class 3A State Title.
This story was originally published September 26, 2014 at 11:33 PM with the headline "Hartsville player’s family files wrongful-death suit."