The family of an Oldham County teenager who collapsed and died after a recreational soccer game has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against his doctor, claiming he failed to alert them to the teen's heart problems.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Jefferson Circuit Court, alleges that a 2006 physical showed that Bryce Turner had a heart murmur, which prevented him from playing on the Trinity High School soccer team until he was cleared by his personal physician, Dr. Carl D. Paige.
Paige, who has a practice in La Grange, did not tell Turner's parents that a test showed the teen had a thickening of his heart muscle, which "could be indicative of a life-threatening condition," or share with them a recommendation that the teen be tested again in a year, according to the suit, which names Paige and his office.In July 2006, Paige faxed a note to Joel Turner, Bryce's father, indicating he could play sports, but not mentioning the test findings. Turner went on to play varsity soccer at Trinity, where he achieved academic all-state honors before his graduation in 2007. Turner played two years of soccer at Chapman University in Orange County, Calif.
On March 16, 2009, Turner, 19, collapsed on a soccer field after playing an informal game at Chapman. He was taken to a hospital, where he died. The lawsuit said Turner died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, thickening of the heart muscle, which is a well-known cause of death for athletes.
"Patients and parents have a right to know about serious abnormal test results so they can make appropriate medical decisions about treatment, and here that didn't happen," said Hans Poppe, an attorney for the family.
Claims made in filing a lawsuit present only one side of the case. Paige did not immediately return a phone call to his office.
Turner was a member of the soccer team at Chapman, where he was in his second year, majoring in business administration with a minor in English. He was also a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.
The lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of the Bryce C. Turner Memorial Foundation, which encourages early detection and greater awareness of this heart condition in athletes, is seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as a trial by jury.
By Jason Riley • jriley@courier-journal.com • December 16, 2010