A family in the United States reached a multi-million-dollar settlement with a Kentucky university after their 20-year-old son died of a heat stroke following a workout with the wrestling team. According to CNN, the University of Cumberlands reached a settlement of more than $14 million (which is over 1.1 billion in Indian Rupees) with the family of Grant Brace, who died hours after the first training day of the wrestling season in 2020.
In a statement to People magazine, the university said that the settlement exceeds $14 million and that they have agreed to participate in a heat-illness training program and to help awareness of heat-related injuries.
“Our University community continues to mourn his untimely loss. We sincerely hope that resolving this matter early in the legal process will offer the Brace family a measure of peace and healing,” said University Chancellor Jerry Jackson.
In the lawsuit, cited by CNN, the family claimed that their son died after a “punishment practice” during which university wrestling coaches “ignored Grant’s deteriorating medical condition throughout practice”.
The lawsuit stated that the 20-year-old repeatedly begged for water, but the coaches wouldn’t allow anyone to help him and sent him out of the wrestling facility by himself.
According to ABC affiliate WTVD, Mr Brace had narcolepsy and ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and was prescribed Adderall, which requires hydration. He was found dead “with his hands clenched in the grass and dirt after a desperate and erratic search for assistance and water,” the lawsuit said.
The university stated that it settled the case for $14.1 million out of respect for the Brace family’s loss, despite its belief in its ability to defend the claims asserted in the lawsuit. “The University made the decision to settle the case now in a manner it hopes will respect the Brace family’s tremendous loss,” they said.
According to Washinton Post, the university also added that the two wrestling coaches involved in that day’s session have since resigned.
