Tahoma schools settle with teen in football-injury case

Money won't change the fact that 16-year-old Zackery Lystedt may never walk again, could need assistance for the rest of his life and is permanently disabled by injuries that were preventable.

"The money part is insignificant compared to what we live with every day," said Zackery's father, Victor Lystedt, at a news conference Wednesday to announce his family has settled a claim against the Tahoma School District filed on behalf of his son.

The money, however, will help the Maple Valley family seek additional therapy and treatment and provide for his long-term care.

"It's a big relief," said Mercedes Lystedt. "It means we will be able to give him whatever he needs and not have to ask if we can afford it."

Zackery's injuries while playing in a football game for Tahoma Junior High School three years ago led to the passage earlier this year of the nation's most rigorous law protecting young athletes from severe brain injuries.

The law requires clearance from a licensed medical professional, which includes certified athletic trainers, before a student-athlete who has sustained a concussion can return to the playing field.

"It's not right for kids to go back in the game, not right at all," Zackery said at the news conference. "And coaches shouldn't have to make those decisions."

Mike Patterson, an attorney for the school district, said that the district settled the claim to protect the school district's assets but that the district did not admit liability.

The decision was a "business decision," he said. "We believe the coaches certainly followed all the standards they were supposed to."

Attorneys for Zackery's family and the school district said they could not disclose the amount of the settlement because both sides had signed a confidentiality agreement. However, the appellate courts have ruled that public entities, such as school districts, must disclose the amount of settlements.

A spokesman for the Tahoma School District said the district would respond to a written public-disclosure request seeking the amount of the settlement, which The Times has filed.

Zackery was injured while playing football Oct. 12, 2006, when he suffered a concussion toward the end of the first half of a game. He was twice returned to play and 60 seconds after the game was over, he collapsed.

Doctors later would discover he had suffered a traumatic brain injury and he was hemorrhaging.

Zackery was in a coma for months and required intensive therapy before he was able to eat on his own or speak. Even now, he remains in a wheelchair.

The Lystedt's attorneys, Richard Adler and Mike Nelson, are experts on brain-injury cases.

Adler is the immediate past president of the Brain Injury Association of Washington, and Nelson is a brain-injury survivor, who settled the nation's first "second impact" football brain-injury case 12 years ago.

Along with the Lystedts, they led a three year, statewide campaign to enact Washington's law, which focuses on return to play following a concussion.

"As passionate advocates for preventable brain injuries, we are proud of our work to educate the public on the need to enhance and improve existing rules and laws that mandate the safety of America's children in sports," Adler said.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com