Injured athlete's legal battle ends with $1.7M settlement

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It's been four years since Sean McNamee's life was changed forever on a high school football field in Hillsborough County.

During varsity football warm-ups, he hit his head on a piece of equipment causing severe brain injuries. Sean was in a coma for nine days. 

His family sued the Hillsborough County School District for negligence, claiming he didn't receive the proper medical attention by Wharton staff. 

A $2 million settlement was reached in 2015.  The district would pay $300,000 - the maximum allowed, and would support a "claim bill" in the Florida legislation for the remaining $1.7 million. 

Lawmakers have agreed to sign off on the deal. 

”He's going forward with what he believes is his calling in life. He's going to go forward by talking to other student-athletes,” said Steve Yerrid.

Yerrid is Sean's attorney. He says this part of the battle may be over - and Sean has come a long way - but he still has many battles in front of him.

”He's got seizures and doesn’t have a driver's license. He's coping very well and the thing is remarkable about Sean is his courage,” he said.

The settlement also impacts other students.  The district is now providing a million dollars per student in liability insurance in cases of wrongful injury or death.  There's also a new protocol in place named after McNamee, similar to the NFL concussion rules.

”That's going to save a lot of people wear and tear,”

The claim bill is awaiting a signature from Governor Rick Scott.  Yerrid expects that to happen.