ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys for the parents of a Central Florida football player who died following a 2008 offseason conditioning workout have filed a motion seeking punitive damages in their wrongful-death lawsuit.
The motion was filed Friday in Orange County Civil Court. Punitive damages are intended to deter the defendant from similar conduct and not necessarily compensate the plaintiff.
The parents of Ereck Plancher already were seeking compensatory damages in the lawsuit. They allege that coaches and trainers ignored signs of fatigue that led to their son’s death.
An autopsy showed Plancher had a sickle cell trait that caused problems with his red blood cells during physical exertion. UCF officials have called Plancher’s death a tragedy and said staff did everything they could to save him.
