Parents sue over football son's death

By KRISTI ALBERTSON/Daily Inter Lake

The parents of a high school football player who died last year after collapsing at practice have filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Bigfork School District.

Denver-based attorney Dan Caplis filed the suit Wednesday on behalf of Bob and Theresa "Troy" Bowman. The lawsuit was filed exactly one year after their son Jeffrey died at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

Jeff Bowman, 17, collapsed and went into cardiac arrest while running laps on the first day of football practice Aug. 13, 2007.

Now his parents are suing the school district, head football coach Bruce Corbett and former athletic director Shannon Smith for actual and special damages they say resulted from their son's death. The amount will be determined in court.

The Bowmans filed the case in federal court because they now live in Colorado and because the damages requested exceed $75,000.

The Bowmans say their son never should have been allowed to practice in the first place. Jeff did not have a physical exam by a doctor, a Montana High School Association requirement for all students taking part in athletic programs.

By allowing him to practice anyway, the school district violated its own rules and deprived the Bowmans of their parental rights, the Bowmans said in a prepared statement released Wednesday.

"Bigfork High blatantly violated our legal and sacred right to decide what's best for our child," they said.

"Winning football games was more important to them than our parental rights. Winning football games was more important to them than following the rules. Above all, winning football games was more important to them than the safety of the children."

Jeff Bowman participated in morning and evening practices Aug. 13. It was a hot day, and smoke from area wildfires had settled over the valley. According to the complaint the Bowmans filed, air quality was "rapidly deteriorating" and reached its most dangerous point at 8 p.m. - just as the football team began conditioning drills.

Bowman was on his second timed lap around the football field when he fell to the ground. According to the lawsuit, a coach grabbed his shirt and yelled at him to "get up and get going." A second coach allegedly grabbed inside the waistband of Bowman's pants, lifted him off the ground and dropped him.

District Superintendent Russell Kinzer had said at the time that two assistant coaches rushed over when Bowman fell, and immediately began cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. They were administering CPR when paramedics arrived.

The lawsuit claims coaches failed to provide "prompt and effective medical treatment, including CPR and the use of a defibrillator."

Paramedics continued CPR and used a defibrillator to revive Bowman, who was flown via ALERT helicopter to Kalispell Regional. He died a week later.

An official cause of death never has been released. According to the lawsuit, Bowman died from injuries sustained in his collapse, including cardiac arrest and a brain injury from oxygen deprivation.

Kinzer told the Inter Lake at the time that he believed a "heart situation" led to Bowman's collapse. It is unclear whether a routine physical would have turned up indications of any existing heart issues.

The lawsuit says the heat and poor air quality contributed to Bowman's collapse. The Bowmans also blame the district for not using the school's defibrillator, which was not on the field at the time.

"As Jeff fought for his life on the field, the coaches could have saved him with the school's defibrillator," the Bowmans' statement said. "But the coaches did not use it to save our son from what they had done to him."

Later, their statement said: "Top doctors have told us that the records we gave Bigfork High show that it was the football practice that caused Jeff to collapse, and that Jeff would have been saved by the use of the school's defibrillator."

After Bowman's death, the school district hired Elizabeth Kaleva, a Missoula attorney who specializes in school law, to investigate the circumstances surrounding Bowman's collapse. According to Kaleva's report, which the Bowmans called "a biased, misleading and incomplete charade" and "an insult to our late son," coaches responded appropriately to Bowman's collapse.

The report also said no one knew Bowman hadn't turned in his physical-exam form. The district has since revamped its procedures on handling such forms.

In Wednesday's statement, the Bowmans further derided Kaleva's investigative report as simply a means to protect the district.

"Bigfork High used a hand-picked attorney to issue a so called 'independent report' to cover itself," the statement said. "But they won't be able to handpick which information goes to the jury."

The lawsuit demands a trial by a 12-member jury in federal court.

Kinzer, who first learned of the lawsuit Wednesday morning, declined to comment. Charles McNeil, of the Missoula-based Garlington, Lohn and Robinson law firm, will represent the school district.

The Bowmans are suing for funeral and burial expenses, medical expenses, loss of consortium, loss of care and comfort, emotional distress, mental anguish, loss of future support, loss of earnings and reduced earning capacity.

They also are suing for special damages, including the value of Bowman's reasonable earnings during his life expectancy, medical expenses and the pain and suffering Bowman experienced from the time of his injury until his death.

"We know that some will think we want to profit off our son's death," the Bowmans' statement said. "That is the furthest thing from the truth. We would give up all we have to spend just another moment with Jeff."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.