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The recent death of a Florida high school soccer player has sports professionals, spectators, and legislators questioning the duty that an after-school organization has to protect the health of its members. Abel Limones Jr., collapsed during a soccer match in November of 2008, and has been in a persistent vegetative state ever since. Fort Myers personal injury lawyers say that his family has filed numerous lawsuits against the boy's school district and the school board for the negligence that caused their son to lapse into a comatose state following his collapse.

The  Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA), founded in 1920, is a non-profit organization that puts together interscholastic sports programs such as the soccer match in which Limones was playing. According to both FHSAA rules and Florida Statute 1006.165(1), public schools must maintain Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)—lifesaving medical devices that shock failing hearts back into a proper rhythm—on the premises, and have a trained employee present at all times. However, even though the schools must purchase AEDs, they are not required to use them, as Limones' family tragically learned.

A bystander performed CPR on Limones when he collapsed, and another eventually called 911 when it became apparent that the CPR efforts were not sufficient. But while Limones lay unconscious for 23 minutes without resuscitation, not one person on the field attempted to use the AED waiting on the sidelines. Limones had suffered "catastrophic brain damage" by the time emergency medical services arrived, and he now requires constant care. His family initially brought lawsuits against the Lee County School District and School Board, claiming their negligence in refusing to use the AED caused the irreversible damage to their son's brain.

The circuit court judge dismissed the case, finding that "the School Board had no common law duty to make available, diagnose the need for, or use an AED" to jump-start Limones' heart. Although no one used the AED, the Court found that the school was legally compliant with 1006.165(1) and the FHSAA requirements, because both the AED and the trained employee were at the game. Citing Florida's Cardiac Arrest Survival Act, the court granted immunity to the school for giving a reasonable effort to help Limones. Fort Myers personal injury attorneys say that the law is intended to protect people who offer help during an emergency from later litigation.

In Florida's 2nd District Court of Appeals, the Limones' lawsuit was dismissed again; the court ruled that an AED is a medical rescue service, and schools and businesses have no obligation to use them in emergency circumstances. The Appeals Court relied on a recent case in which an LA Fitness patron went into cardiac arrest during a workout. A gym employee failed to help the man, even though he was trained in CPR. The court found that the employee had no duty to offer his services to the man.

The court's decision places schools and their faculty at the level of a restaurant or gym, but Fort Myers personal injury attorneys say that the duty to care for students should be greater for educators and coaches. The personal injury lawyers at Florida-based firm Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., offer legal counsel to those who have been affected by someone else's negligence or misconduct.