Expert: Care for Plancher lacking

The jury for the Ereck Plancher wrongful death trial against UCF Athletics Association (UCFAA) heard testimony Friday from a former UCF football player and a certified athletic trainer and director of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut.

The jury saw video of former player Cory Minnich's testimony, which they were instructed by Circuit Judge Robert M. Evans to give the same weight as any other witness appearing in person, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

According to Minnich's testimony, athletic trainers were ordered by coach George O'Leary to remove water from the indoor practice facility — which Minnich said was not uncommon.

Minnich also said trainers were not near the players as they traversed an obstacle course or near Plancher when he started to show signs of fatigue. He also testified that he and some of the other players vomited because of the intensity of the workout, though it was not unusual for that to happen.

Douglas Casa, who was hired to testify in the case by the Plancher family attorneys, said he learned Plancher was mistreated by UCFAA staff after interviewing the athletes and coaches.

"Ereck Plancher was not cared for properly; he was not cared for quickly enough," Casa said.

Plancher's parents, Gisele and Enock Plancher, filed a lawsuit against the school's association for negligence, a year after Plancher collapsed at football practice on March 18, 2008 at the Nicholson Fieldhouse and later died at the hospital.

A medical examiner attributed Plancher's sickle cell trait caused his collapse and death.

Casa said, to his knowledge, Plancher was never notified of his sickle cell trait, which he said was "unreasonable."

"If someone was tested, the athlete deserves to know the results of their tests," Casa said. "I would fully expect that person, the athlete in this case, to be informed of the status, whether it should be positive or negative."

He said one of the only people with any knowledge of the 19-year-old's condition was O'Leary, but even the coach was not aware of what it actually was.

"I was never under the impression of any coaches aware of the symptoms associated with sickle cell," said Casa, adding O'Leary only new of one symptom, which was fatigue.

Casa said he believed the coaches gained some basic knowledge two years later during their depositions. He also told the people of the court that there were some underlying issues at the UCFAA, including the fact that the organization was understaffed at the time, with only six full-time athletic trainers for a total of 15 varsity sports and approximately 400 to 500 athletes.

"You could ratio athlete versus athletic trainer, but it's certainly well below the standard that you would see at the division … in terms of appropriate medical staff," Casa said.

Casa said no one knows for sure how many players were at the Fieldhouse that day, but he said because of that time of the year, he estimated approximately 80.

Another issue he referenced was the daily rotation of supervisors among the staff. He said having two primary bosses causes conflict because "they might implement those policies and procedures very differently … especially in light of the fact that you didn't have a team physician. That just creates chaos."

Casa said that because of these issues, it's evident that UCFAA did not design the sports medical program in the proper way.