Family Files Claim Against Police, School Board
By Paul Pinkham, Florida Times-Union
Original publication date: March1, 2011
Saying they want to ensure Jacksonville police and school employees know how to react next time, the parents of a Sandalwood basketball player who died during halftime of a game filed legal claims with the city Monday.
Phillip and Harvetta Jackson said their son, Phillip III, probably would be alive today if anyone had performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation when he collapsed during a tournament at Terry Parker High School on his 18th birthday. They also said coaches and police at the tournament waited too long to call 911.
“In all probability, Phillip’s life would have been saved by something as simple as CPR. It’s a simple mantra: 911, CPR,” said attorney Steve Pajcic, who added his firm isn’t accepting a fee to represent the Jacksons.
A claim letter was filed at City Hall naming both the Duval County School Board and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Under Florida law, the city has six months to resolve the claims before the family can sue. The most they and Phillip III’s 2-year-old child could receive under state caps is $200,000.
Calls about the letter were referred to Deputy General Counsel Howard Maltz, who was out of the office and couldn’t be reached.
Jackson was a star football and basketball player at Sandalwood, a senior planning to play football at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, his mother said. She said he had no health problems before collapsing as his team returned to the court just before Christmas 2009. He had played the entire second quarter.
His coach said he appeared to have a small seizure before he went down. An autopsy determined the teen’s heart misfired.
“It was shocking. He was my only boy,” his father said as he fought back tears.
Harvetta Jackson said she and her husband were at the game and were called to the locker room after their son collapsed. That’s when 911 was called, she said. Pajcic estimated that, with that delay, Phillip Jackson III didn’t get CPR for 15 to 20 minutes when rescue arrived.
“Every coach should know how to call 911 immediately and have the simple training for CPR. Every police officer should know 911, CPR,” Pajcic said. “And every single 911 operator should be able to recognize an emergency that requires CPR and be able to explain to the caller how simple and critical CPR is.”
Pajcic said he doesn’t know if no one at the game knew what to do or if they simply didn’t react. He said the fact that there was more than one coach and more than one officer makes him think it’s more of a systemic problem.
“Phillip’s family does not want to condemn any one person,” he said, “but wants to make sure this never happens again.”
About the Author
Contact Paul Pinkham at paul.pinkham@jacksonville.com or 904/359-4107.
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