Youth Sports and AED’s

Last week the Florida Supreme Court changed youth sports in our state forever. Friday afternoon the court ruled that the parents of Abel Limones can now sue the state for the reason that the coaches and administrators at Lee County High School failed to use an AED (Automated Electronic Defibrillator) to revive their son after he suffered v-fib while playing in a soccer game.

The FSC was investigating this because it was the first case where an AED had been readily available to the adults but had not been used. Coaches and administrators did administer CPR until paramedics arrived and once paramedics were on scene they used a combination of medication and defibrillation to restart the student’s heart. The student did survive but is now in a permanent vegetative state.

The reason this case was before the Florida Supreme Court was that the school did have an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) and failed to use it on the student. Up until the courts ruling on Friday it was stated under Florida Law that the possession and use of an AED was not mandatory at public schools. After the ruling on Friday it can now be said that if an AED is on site, then any employees or volunteers from the school must not only be trained in how to use an AED but that they are now required to use it when an incident arises.

No doubt that this ruling gives some relief to the parents of Abel Limones as the continued care of their son results in unimaginable amounts of medical debt, but it also may change the way that youth sports are played and administered. Will more adults that normally volunteer at these programs now think twice with such great responsibility sat squarely on their shoulders? Or even more likely, will schools and after school programs just cut back on their activities to lessen the chance of a child being hurt?

The responsibility of a school should always be to protect its students. Knowing CPR and being able to administer it is a great beginning, but in this day and age with the tools that we have available it just isn’t enough. It was okay to state that a school should not be required to have AED’s available (though it seems like a no brainer when it comes to our children’s safety) but if a school has the tools on site that can help save a child’s life and yet no one was trained to utilize it, then we have a problem.

Below are links to sites that have a plethora of information on the use of AEDs & CPR. If you or a family member has ever been injured at a youth sporting event and feel like the responsibility of the children’s safety was ignored please give us a call at 727-669-2828 for your no pressure free case evaluation.

Click here to find local trainings for CPR and AED use through the Red Cross.

Click here for an interactive demo for AED to help keep your current skills sharp.