$39.5M To A Student Who Suffered Heatstroke

$39.5M To A Student Who Suffered Heatstroke

Introduction

California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB) has agreed to pay $39.5 million to a former student, now 24, who suffered heatstroke during a class run which resulted in severe brain damage and immobility. According to the court memorandum, the tragic incident happened on September 26, 2018, when the student was running outdoors in a kinesiology class. She was running in 95-degree heat when she suffered debilitating heatstroke that resulted in severe brain damage, cardiac arrest, and multisystem organ failure. The student was participating in a run on a 5K course along with other students and when nearing the end, she collapsed on the hot concrete outside Coussoulis Arena. The university athletic trainer and other personnel waited for the paramedics to arrive and did not provide any kind of rapid whole-body cooling or move her to the air-conditioned arena 20 feet away. The evidence presented revealed that the instructor and the other CSUSB employees had not received the required Cal-OSHA training in heat illness prevention and treatment before the incident. As a part of the settlement deal, the Cal State officials have agreed to implement a systemwide policy for heat illness prevention, education, and protocols, which will be applicable in all academic environments for the nearly 500,000 students enrolled at all 23 California State University campuses. The student lives with her family and requires support around-the-clock, at-home medical care, and physical therapy for the rest of her life, which will be covered by the settlement.