LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The prosecutor within the case involving the injured highschool wrestler is urging the district’s athletic director to be fired.
A lawsuit filed by a minor recognized as R.D. accuses Okemos Public Faculties and wrestling coach Clint Guess of inflicting life-threatening accidents throughout a Dec. 12, 2024, apply.
‘My ribs moved to my stomach’: Lawsuit says Okemos apply severely injured teen wrestler
Medical doctors on the College of Michigan trauma unit mentioned her Stage 4 liver laceration and Stage 5 belly hematoma are usually seen in car-crash victims, and Sparrow Hospital employees warned any therapy delay might have been deadly.
Prosecuting legal professional Jamie White mentioned the Okemos Public Faculties Athletic Director, Ken Hintze, ought to resign.
“I’m calling for the termination of the athletic director, the principal, the athletic trainers,” White mentioned.
“This girl almost died, and it was by no circumstance of action on the part of the school district that caused her to survive. It was only by another student that recognized the severe injuries that she had suffered, leading to her parents being contacted, and ultimately being diagnosed by the University of Michigan as having fatal injuries.”
In keeping with the grievance, a number of featherweight teammates had been absent, so Guess paired the lady with a boy three weight courses heavier, who had a historical past of injuring companions.
The boy allegedly body-slammed her repeatedly whereas the coach merely advised him to “settle down.” R.D. vomited and struggled to breathe, however neither Guess nor athletic coach Rachel Weiss referred to as 911 or gave her medical consideration.
“This young woman chose and wanted to participate in a boys’ sport, and she was literally responded to by indifference,” White mentioned. “Indifference in the sense that, in December of 2024, there weren’t people her size, her coaches threw her to the wolves with big boys that were multiple levels above her weight class in wrestling. We have weight classes for a reason.”
R.D. Med Recs copyDownload
R.D.’s father rushed her to UM Well being-Sparrow Hospital, the place medical doctors found the laceration. The swimsuit claims gross negligence, citing the mismatch in dimension and expertise, and seeks damages for medical prices, misplaced athletic probabilities, and an elevated danger of future liver illness.
Okemos Public Faculties declined to remark, citing a coverage that the district doesn’t touch upon pending litigation. Guess didn’t reply to messages left on the faculty’s athletic division.
