High School Athlete Dies After Flying Discus Hits Him In Hip

CBA Houston ^ | Mar 20, 2013 | Associated Press staff

[libstripper]

HEREFORD, Texas (CBS Houston/AP) — A funeral is scheduled for Wednesday for a Panhandle high school freshman athlete who died nine days after a flying discus hit him in the hip.

[libstripper]

Prayers up for him and his family in this horrible, freak tragedy. Do any FR physicians here have any ideas/guesses how this might have happened. My only guess (from a JD, not a MD) is a blood clot might have formed and made a lethal trip to his heart or brain. Some things just don't involve politics.

[Mr. K]

It was because of sequester

[napscoordinator]

Wow! That is odd. What a freaky accident. I could see death if it hit him in the head, but the hip? Oh well crazy things happen that is for sure.

[driftdiver]

Could have been a blood clot but the article says he was complaining of increasing pain.

Probably broke some bones, then an infection, and he went septic.

[Faith]

Prayers for this family and for the poor kid who threw the discus.

[Bryan]

My only guess (from a JD, not a MD) is a blood clot might have formed and made a lethal trip to his heart or brain.

That is almost certainly what happened. My God. This young man and his family are in our thoughts and prayers.

I don't suppose we will see an Assault Discus ban any time soon ...

[bigheadfred]

I had a blood clot in my thigh that by the time they got it slowed down was 14” long. I know about increasing pain.

[libstripper]

Many years ago a torts professor of mine posed the following hypothetical to illustrate the concept of foreseeability:

The defendant gives his three year old son a loaded, cocked .45 and sends the litle boy across the street to deliver it to the defendant's friend and neighbor. Along the way the little boy meets a friend of his and they start plyaing with the gun. The little boy drops the gun and it falls on his friend's foot, breaking the foot, but does not go off. Is the defendant liable for the injury to his son's friend's foot and, if so, why?

A bit like this weird death.

[GraceG]

We need to discuss Discus control immediately!!!!

[b4its2late]

That sounds like a plausible guess.

Or he could've died of something totally unrelated to the hip incident, like a unknown heart issue.

[OKRA2012]

It’s the Greeks fault.

[libstripper]

Or, quite sadly, this is just one of those horrible things to which that famous old Hell’s Angels saying applies, “Sometimes shit just happens.” No insults intended to any bikers, including the Angels.

[driftdiver]

Kinda tough to walk that off eh. whew

[yarddog]

I remember some years ago, an Air Force Academy (at least I think it was) athlete was struck by a javelin right in the heart. Somehow he survived.

[uncommonsense]

I used to throw. Hit a couple poles and a pickup along the foul line and came close to refs measuring distance, but thankfully no one. Metal ringed disk weighing 3lbs 9oz traveling 150' on a good day can easily break bones.

We weren't allowed to throw javelins until college due to the obvious dangers.

[OKRA2012]

Hold on. The Greek guy that invented the discus toss more a mere 2800 years ago for the Olympics should have known that a poor child in the Texas panhandle in the year 2013 would be killed by a errant discus toss.

[Houghton M.]

Eric Holder will prosecute that white Greek guy within a week or two. After he goes after the manufacturer of the discus.

[LibWhacker]

Accident or a case of bullying? Article never said. I’m always suspicious in these kid-kills-kid cases. I’m confident the lion’s share of them are not accidents.

[DaxtonBrown]

I threw discus in high school. Sometimes they’d just let fly off your middle finger and slice off course a long way. Also polevaulted. Both more risky than people realize.