Family of Wake County high school football player who died will get $45,000 settlement

The family of a Rolesville High School football player who died after sustaining a head injury in practice in 2014 will receive $45,000 to drop a lawsuit against the Wake County school system.

Isaiah Langston, 17, died Sept. 29, 2014, from a stroke that a state medical examiner’s report said was caused by a head injury suffered five days earlier in football practice. In a settlement agreement signed Tuesday, the school system’s insurer agreed to pay the family $45,000 in exchange for dismissing the lawsuit. As part of the deal, the school system does not admit any negligence in Langston’s death.

“This resolution allows all parties to avoid the challenges and costs of a full trial,” school officials said in a statement Wednesday. “The settlement amount of $45,000 will address the family’s outstanding expenses. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the family.”

Karonnie Truzy, the Greensboro attorney for Langston’s family, did not immediately return a request for comment. But in the lawsuit filed in Wake County Superior Court, Langston’s family accused the school of not following the state’s concussion protocol and of not acting after the teen complained of headaches prior to his collapse before a football game.

Under state law, student-athletes in North Carolina who display symptoms of a concussion must be cleared by a medical doctor or licensed athletic trainer before returning to practice.

In its response to the lawsuit, school officials acknowledged Langston didn’t participate in the concussion protocol and wasn’t cleared to play by any doctor. But school attorneys denied that school employees knew that Langston had suffered a concussion or that he had complained of headaches prior to his collapse.

Langston was hit in the back of the head during football practice Sept. 24, 2014, and had a headache for two days, according to the report by medical examiner Dr. Andrew Rand.

The teen was “held out” of practice during those two days, according to Rand.

Langston, a lineman for the team, collapsed during pregame warm-ups Sept. 26, 2014, and was taken to the hospital. He died three days later.

The medical examiner ruled Langston’s death an accident. The means of death, according to the report, was “head trauma while playing football.”

The medical examiner’s report did not state that Langston had a concussion, but headaches are a symptom of a concussion.

In their motion to dismiss the lawsuit, school attorneys said that Rand made his determination without having done his own autopsy. They said the medical examiner’s report relied on a statement that Langston’s mother had made to emergency medical technicians saying her son had been injured in practice.

“An extensive discovery phase led to a clear conclusion that school personnel acted with care and without any fault,” school officials said in the statement. “During mediation, the plaintiffs agreed to settle all contested issues and release the School Board and its employees from claims of wrongdoing.”

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Family of Wake County high school football player who died will get $45,000 settlement."