Football is a violent sport. The game is based around rough, physical contact and has been driven to popularity primarily by the its bone-crushing hits.
The sport has proven to be quite dangerous over the years, though, causing plenty of physical harm for many people who have strapped on a helmet and shoulder pads. But sometimes the physical nature of the game can cost players a lot more than just their careers.
One such case is that of Scott Eveland, now 22, who suffered a head injury in a football game during his senior year at Mission Hills High School in San Marcos, Calif., a town 30 miles north of San Diego.
The San Marco school district reached an agreement on Friday to pay Eveland $4.4 million for the damage caused by the incident at the school's football game, according to a report by NBC News.
Eveland sustained a viscious blow to the head and collapsed on the sidelines after playing the first half of a game on Sept. 14, 2007. Eveland was rushed to the hospital, where doctors were able to save his life by removing part of his skull. But heavy bleeding inside his brain has caused Eveland extensive damage, to the point that he is now forced to communicate through a keyboard.
According to a deposition from the case, an assistant student trainer for the Mission Hills' football team said warning signs of Eveland's condition were ignored by team staff.
Due to his head injury, Eveland is confined to a wheelchair and cannot stand or speak, according to his attorney, Robert Francavilla. He now must communicates through an iPad or a specially designed keyboard, and someone has to support his arm at the elbow so he can do that, Francavilla added.
The agreement comes as the problem of head injuries and concussions in football has gained increasing publicity, due to lawsuits brought against the NFL by former players.
More than 20 concussion-related lawsuits brought on by former-NFL players have been filed and recently were consolidated in Philadephia federal court into one larger case.
