Suit Filed Against LAUSD in Death of Football Player

The family of Reseda High School football player Eric Hoggatt, who died after a game last September, filed a wrongful-death suit Monday against Los Angeles Unified School District officials.

The suit did not specify monetary damages but alleges school officials were negligent in, among other things:

* Allowing Hoggatt to reenter the Sept. 12 game against Chatsworth High School after complaining to teammates of dizziness and tingling in his extremities;

* Failing to inform Hoggatt’s parents, South-Central Los Angeles residents who did not attend the game, of their 18-year-old son’s complaints so they could monitor his post-game condition;

* Permitting Hoggatt to take a late-night school bus home unattended after the game.

Hoggatt was found dead in bed the following morning by his mother, Verna Hoggatt. The county coroner has indicated he died of head injuries received in the game.

An LAUSD spokesman declined comment on the suit, which was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, citing district policy against discussing pending litigation.

Named as defendants in the wide-ranging suit are the school district, the Board of Education, Reseda Principal Robert Kladifko, Reseda football coach Joel Schaeffer, two assistant coaches and team physician Michael Hollander. Also named is the manufacturer of the helmet Hoggatt wore during the game.

On Oct. 9 the Hoggatt family filed an internal complaint with the LAUSD that covered much the same ground as the lawsuit. The school district hasn’t formally accepted or rejected the complaint, but claims personnel have indicated they do not believe LAUSD is liable, according to the Hoggatt family’s lawyer, Martha Woliung.

Woliung criticized the district’s lack of action. She said the family filed the lawsuit because “they want this over, they want to get on with their lives. They wanted to put things on track.”