Danny Amendola has had bad luck with injuries on the football field, and it appears that misfortune runs in the family.
Willie Amendola, the father of the Patriots receiver, has filed a lawsuit against the Cowboys in connection to an unfortunate golf cart incident at Cowboys Stadium on Dec. 17, 2011 and is seeking more than $1 million in damages.
Amendola, then the coach of Spring Dekaney high school in Houston, Texas, had just won the Class 5A Division II title inside the Cowboys new state-of-the-art stadium when an unmanned golf cart sped to midfield and slammed into an unsuspecting group of people. Amendola (as seen in the video below) was the first person hit by the cart and remained in the vehicle, even steering around another group of people before jumping out and letting the field staff take over.
The cart was apparently being powered by a pair of end zone pylons that fell onto the gas pedal in the front of the vehicle.
The suit describes the incident in detail, as seen below:
“Videos of the incident confirm that ill-trained, unsupervised, and grossly negligent employees, while acting in course and scope of their employment, threw objects into the floor of the motorized cart, which caused the cart to accelerate without manual operation. The cart crossed and went up the field with the employees in pursuit.
“Struck from behind, without warning, Coach Amendola was thrown back into the floorboard of the cart suffering serious bodily injuries. Coach Amendola heroically had the presence of mind to direct the cart, which he briefly controlled, in such a manner that it avoided striking the head or bodies of numerous others who had fallen. He rolled off the cart when he realized he could not bring it safely to a halt, hitting the stadium floor.”
According to the suit, Amendola claims the incident caused him”‘physical pain,” “mental anguish,” “loss of earning capacity” and “loss of enjoyment.”
Check out the video of the incident below.
Read the entire lawsuit here.
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