Opinion ID: 1843568
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Conformance With Standard of Care

Text: In its evaluation of whether the coaches' conduct conformed to the standard of care, we note that the district court found that the evidence in the case showed that Bowman was familiar with the signs of a concussion. The district court found additional facts that showed that the coaches met the standard of care regarding evaluating Cerny at intervals and making their determination whether to permit Cerny to reenter the game. The facts found by the district court include the following: The district court found that when Cerny removed himself from the game, he told Bowman that he was fuzzy and had tingling in his neck. The district court found that Bowman talked to Cerny continuously for 5 to 6 minutes and observed that Cerny did not have a vacant stare, responded normally to conversation, did not appear to be disoriented or confused, and did not complain of nausea, headache, or blurred vision. The district court also found that the record demonstrated that Bowman observed and talked to Cerny approximately 15 minutes after his initial evaluation and that during this second observation, Bowman noted that Cerny was oriented, breathing normally, speaking coherently, and not complaining of headache, dizziness, vision problems, or nausea. The district court also found that Bowman observed Cerny on the sidelines during the third quarter and that Bowman noted that Cerny appeared to be 100% normal; that his responses were appropriate; that he did not seem confused or disoriented; that his speech was not incoherent or slurred; that his emotions were appropriate; that he did not complain of dizziness, unsteadiness, nausea, or headache; and that he told the coach he felt fine. Based upon the foregoing, the district court found that Bowman evaluated Cerny for symptoms of a concussion and that Cerny was evaluated at intervals. Further, the district court found that Cerny was properly allowed to reenter the game. With regard to whether the conduct of the coaches met the standard of care, we note that the record contains Stineman's testimony, in which he stated that the evaluations and actions taken by Egger and Bowman regarding Cerny were reasonable for Nebraska endorsed coaches on September 15, 1995. According to Stineman, Bowman's evaluation of Cerny during the Beemer football game and Egger's decision to permit Cerny to reenter the game were the actions that would have been taken by a reasonable Nebraska endorsed football coach under similar circumstances in 1995. Given its findings of fact summarized above, the district court determined, inter alia, that the conduct of the coaches in this matter comported with the standard of care required of reasonable [sic] prudent persons holding a Nebraska teaching certificate with a coach's endorsement. The court finds no negligence on the part of [the School]. Although we recognize that the record contains evidence that could controvert the district court's findings of fact, we are required to consider the evidence in a light most favorable to the School. See Skinner v. Ogallala Pub. Sch. Dist. No. 1, 262 Neb. 387, 631 N.W.2d 510 (2001). The district court's findings that the coaches' conduct met the standard of care and that the School was not negligent are supported by evidence and are not clearly wrong. Pursuant to our standard of review, we determine that there is sufficient evidence to sustain the district court's judgment. Cerny's second, third, and fourth arguments are without merit. Further, we have considered all of Cerny's remaining arguments on appeal and determine that they are without merit.