Cerney v. Cedar Bluffs Junior/Senior Public School

Cerney (plaintiff) was a student football player for Cedar Bluffs Junior/Senior Public School (the School) (defendant). During a Friday night game, he hit his head making a tackle, briefly complained of dizziness and shortness of breath, and took himself out of the game. His coach evaluated him twice over about twenty minutes, and each time Cerney showed no vacant stare, confusion, nausea, or headache, so the coach let him return to the game. Cerney later said he'd had a continuous headache since the hit but did not recall telling the coach about it before Tuesday's practice, where he suffered a second closed-head injury. Doctors testified the Friday hit caused a concussion and the Tuesday injury caused second-impact syndrome and a traumatic brain injury. Cerney sued the School for negligence, and the trial court found the School was not negligent.