A 19-year-old North Hollywood High School student who broke his neck during a football tryout practice has won a $2.4-million arbitration award against the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Johnny Rider suffered a five-way cervical spine fracture during a running back drill on July 8, 2008, for which he and other students were not provided helmets or other protective gear.
LAUSD admitted liability for failing to provide protective equipment and acknowledged the football tryout was “unauthorized and unsupervised,” according to a statement from Browne Greene, Rider’s attorney.
The arbitration addressed only the issue of damages.