Football is a tough game, not for the meek or the weak hearted and with all the blocking and tackling there are definitely going to be injuries. Its part of the game and hence, as a de facto standard you have coaches who are tough and handle their teams with an iron fist. You got tackled real bad? The coach won’t even take notice of it, let alone pull you off the field. But how long will he, or should he overlook the injuries?

In what is referred to as ‘the first lawsuit brought against a Pennsylvania school district by a player who allegedly suffered unneeded head trauma’, Zachary Alt, a former Highlands High (Pa) fullback has filed a lawsuit against the Highlands School District of the Pittsburg area alleging that along with the school district, the Highland High principal, coach, assistant principal and trainer, all used "deliberate disregard for [Alt's] welfare" when they allowed Zach, then a sophomore, to continue playing regardless of the concussions he suffered.

While it may not be the last lawsuit filed for such reasons, it’s definitely not the first as it follows other such small suits filed across the country. The case provides several insights into collective institutional oversight and disregard. The Highlands School District had vast evidence of the trauma and damage that Zach was suffering and it still chose to let him play the field.

Megan Alt, Zach’s mother, says that she was not made aware of his first two concussions in the first place and that she only sought medical attention for her son when one of his teammates called her up, begging her to take Zach to the emergency room after a game. She then took him to the emergency room of Alle-Kiski Medical Center where it was diagnosed that Zach has, as put in the complaint, "substantial head injury," which is the cause for his continued memory loss, eating and sleeping problems and nausea. Alt’s problems began post concussions.

"Another teammate went to the trainer and told the trainer, 'Zach isn't right. He is walking around like he is drunk.' Neither the coach nor the trainer kept him out of the game," Robert Peirce, Zach’s lawyer, said.

Since Alt’s teammates were able to see how badly he was affected due to the injuries, his mother feels that there can be no excuse as to why the people in positions of authority ignored the signs. "It was obvious to his friends who played on the team with him. How could the adults not see it?" she said.

Zach’s mother claims that she doesn’t want to interrupt or stop football and that she wants to help in preventing other children from suffering the same uncertain fate as her son. Zach’s attempts to work for his mother’s cleaning company have been futile as reportedly, he can only work for an hour or so before he is forced to lie down due to the headaches. His lawyer, Pierce says that it is evident that Zach won’t be able to work a normal eight hour day.

Megan Alt further adds that, "It has been a nightmare, to say the least" and that "It has changed my family. It has changed my son."

The Highlands School District issued a statement offering no comments and saying that their lawyer will review the case and answer the allegations in the court.

The lawsuit also alleges that even though Zach found it hard to deal with schoolwork and his attendance declined in the days following the incidents, he graduated with almost straight A’s.

If the allegations are found to be true and the defendants are found guilty, the case may be able to set some precedence on how the people in positions of authority deal with player injuries. However, many a people think that Zach’s parents too were responsible for him as they could have pulled him off the games right then. That not happening, questions the authenticity of the suit.

Image official credit website:http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2011/04/08/former-highlands-hs-athlete-sues-school-district/