Cheerleader fell and suffered brain damage - but school's insurance won't pay up

When a child is seriously injured, it’s always emotionally devastating for the family. Unfortunately, it can be financially devastating, also. Yet all too often, families are left “holding the bag” in terms of out-of-control medical expenses when tight-fisted insurance companies refuse to live up to their responsibilities. Then, a lawsuit is the injured parties’ only recourse.

What happened to Patty Phommanyvong is a case in point.

The young cheerleader at Santee High School was thrown up in the air during a cheer routine. When she came down, she was so seriously injured that she went into a coma. Her heart stopped, and didn’t beat again until much later, when paramedics arrived. She suffered extensive brain damage. She is now a quadriplegic. Her family is drowning in medical bills.

One would think that this is a classic case where the school’s insurance should pay up. But they’re refusing, and so Patty’s family is suffering financially as well as emotionally.

One can only be grateful that they, like the rest of us, can turn to the court system for justice. They’ve hired a malpractice attorney. Will justice prevail? We shall see.

Source: KNBC TV Los Angeles

3 Responses to “Cheerleader fell and suffered brain damage – but school’s insurance won’t pay up”

Kimberly Archie

03 Jun 2008 at 3:17 pm

Parents really need to be aware of the liability they are undertaking when their children play sports. Yes, most injuries are manageable, but when they are catastrophic it can destroy a whole family.
Audrey

20 Feb 2009 at 9:17 am

A tragic accident to be sure, and my heart goes out to the family. The article doesn’t say whose insurance is refusing to pay – the family’s? The school’s? I don’t see how the school is remotely to blame here. One or more students were supposed to catch her during the stunt and it seems like they failed (dropped her?) So shouldn’t those students and *their* families be made to pay?

I agree that this is an accident and should be covered by insurance, but it should be the cheerleader’s parents’ insurance. And if they won’t pay, then why is this a case that warrants any coverage? If people are squawking at the school, then they don’t get it. If we were to point the blame at her fellow students who let her fall, I doubt you’d see people taking her side.

That’s what insurance is for – you pay someone else to assume your risk. Or your kid’s risk if they’re minors. Since the school didn’t do anything wrong, it sounds like people are just looking for a scapegoat with deep pockets.
Kim

05 Jan 2010 at 2:58 pm

This article needs to get this fact straight, Patty was attending John Marshall High School at the time but was at Santee high school for the schools football game againts Santee High.

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Cheerleader fell and suffered brain damage - but school's insurance won't pay up

3 Responses to “Cheerleader fell and suffered brain damage – but school’s insurance won’t pay up”

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