Former Trojan Football Player Sues USC
Brian Baucham was entering his fifth-year as a senior when he got a concussion in July 2012. He was cleared Sept. 20th to play in the game Sept. 22nd against UC Berkeley. According to his complaint, the day he was cleared, he went to the USC health center. He was nauseous and had a 103-degree fever. He says the staff at the health center told him he was in no state to play in the game.
The coaching staff put Baucham in the game just two days later. He was given fluids intravenously twice during the game, but he still collapsed on the field during the fourth quarter. Once taken back to the locker room Baucham says he started coughing up blood and other fluids and was having trouble breathing.
The complaint says Baucham experienced cardiopulmonary damage as well as brain injury with neurocognitive deficits after the game against UC Berkeley and spent multiple days in the hospital on a ventilator. In the complaint Baucham says brain scan later showed that there was some bleeding in his brain and that he has no memory of the second half of the football game.
The amount in damages that Baucham is suing for is unknown.
USC Athletic Director Pat Haden said, “I am confident that we provide excellent medical treatment to our student athletes and that their health is always our primary concern ahead of any athletic competition."
The USC Athletics Department refused to comment on the pending lawsuit.
