Texas A&M to be sued by football player's family

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Credit again goes to ESPN.com for this article.

 

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The family of Texas A&M football player Brandon Fails has sued the school, claiming his death last year could have been prevented if he had received proper treatment after knee surgery.

 

Fails, 18, of Euless died Nov. 25 after collapsing in his dorm room. The Travis County Medical Examiner's Office said the freshman defensive lineman died of a blood clot in his lung and the cause was accidental.

 

Brazos County Justice of the Peace Margaret Meece, who signed the death certificate, cited natural causes.

 

The wrongful death suit, filed Monday in state district court in Brazos County by Charles and Valerie Fails, names the university and a number of officials, including doctors, members of the athletic department management team and the athletic training staff.

 

University spokesman Lane Stephenson said Tuesday the university does not comment on pending litigation.

 

The petition claims the defendants were negligent in the treatment and care of Fails while he recovered from a knee injury suffered during football practice.

 

It is unclear where the clot originated. Fails, who was 6-foot-4 and 275 pounds, had undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right knee weeks before his death.

 

After the surgery, Fails suffered from breathing difficulties and chest pains, according to the lawsuit.

 

The suit claims Fails was wrongly diagnosed and treated for a pulmonary infection when he suffered a pulmonary embolism following arthroscopy.

 

University spokesman Lane Stephenson said Tuesday the school does not comment on pending litigation.