Former West Mifflin player’s concussion lawsuit to go to trial

A lawsuit filed in 2017 by a former West Mifflin Area High School football player claiming the school district, PIAA and WPIAL did not enforce appropriate concussion guidelines will go to trial Tuesday.

According to his attorneys, Shane Skillpa, a 2012 West Mifflin graduate, suffered a head injury during a summer football practice in August 2009. Attorney Richard Sandow said Mr. Skillpa, then a sophomore, was knocked to the ground during an Oklahoma-style drill, where two players run toward each other until one is overpowered. Mr. Skillpa suffered a hard helmet-to-helmet hit that broke his helmet and sent his head to the turf.

Mr. Sandow and attorney Anthony Plasito claim the coaches did not follow any concussion or safety protocols, and their client was not assessed by medical professionals. Instead, coaches had Mr. Skillpa continue with football practice despite the player telling a coach he was seeing stars and that he had a headache. This resulted in more head trauma and second impact syndrome, Mr. Skillpa’s attorneys said.

Two days after the practice, Mr. Skillpa had flu-like symptoms and was later diagnosed with a concussion, according to the suit.

The lawsuit said Mr. Skillpa was diagnosed in 2016 with a traumatic brain injury that he suffered while playing football in August 2009 but manifested years later. He also has been diagnosed with cognitive impairment, organic affective disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, all secondary to the traumatic brain injury.

Mr. Skillpa now suffers from anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, racing thoughts and short-term memory loss and will be under treatment for the rest of his life as a result, Mr. Sandow said. He also said his client’s life expectancy has been significantly reduced because of the concussion.

Mr. Plasito said there was “a lack of an effective and appropriate concussion protocol” and to have kids practice Oklahoma-style drills in such conditions was “barbaric.”

“Both helmets broke, which should have been reason enough to pull them out,” Mr. Plasito said. “When in doubt, pull them out.

“There was no enforcement of concussion guidelines, no supervision,” he said. “[ The PIAA and WPIAL] have a lot of power; they have the ability to enforce rules.”

According to Mr. Sandow, the West Mifflin Area School District has remained unchanged in its protocol, and the PIAA and WPIAL have still not taken proper safety protections with respect to concussion injuries for high school football players.

Dr. Bennett Omalu, a concussion expert, and Dr. Thomas Franz, a noted local concussion specialist who has been treating Mr. Skillpa for his concussive injuries, are both expected to testify at the jury trial.