[ad_1]
Rick Maese
Reporter covering a variety of topics, including health and safety, the Olympics, legal and political issues in sport
Keith L. Alexander
Reporter covering crime and the courts, especially cases of the Superior Court of Justice
Jordan McNair's family lawyer on Thursday sent a letter to the Council of Regents of the University of Maryland urging the agency not to release a report following an investigation into the death of the footballer in June before the family reported. the possibility of revising it.
The 17-member council is expected to meet on Friday and will see for the first time the report prepared by consulting firm Walters, Inc., a sports training consulting firm that has been hired to investigate the training of the team. May 29 team at College Park. years, McNair suffered heat stroke with the effort. He died 15 days later in a hospital.
Hassan Murphy, the lawyer representing McNair's parents, said the family deserves to see the results first.
"Jordan's parents do not want to learn the details of what happened to their son by watching television tomorrow and attending a press conference," the letter said. "But it's apparently the Council's plan. We expected greater sensitivity to McNair family rights, which are more important than any interested news conference you intend to hold. "
[Maryland set to face Minnesota a day after McNair investigation’s results are released]
A spokesman for the Council of Regents said Thursday afternoon that the governing body had not yet seen the report but intended to share the results with the McNair family.
"The board deeply understands the concerns expressed today and has no intention of publicly sharing Mr. McNair's medical information," the spokesman said. "The council, however, intends to share the report with Mr. McNair's family. The Office of the Attorney General contacted representatives of the McNair family to assure them of these facts and to discuss ways to address their concerns while maintaining the Board's commitment to transparency.
In the letter, Murphy, whose company did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday, said the McNairs had not received any updates on the Walters study and had learned through the media that results would be made public this week.
The lawyer argued that the family should be able to review the report before its publication, stating that "the family has the right to revise the report and exclude any content that would violate the rights of the family." Jordan's confidentiality or violate federal and state health protection laws. "
The letter notes that information about medical treatment could violate federal and state laws on the protection of medical data and that both parents have a "strong interest in adequately protecting their deceased son's privacy interests". .
Murphy warned that publishing the report without the family's consent could expose the school to serious civil and criminal liability. On August 24, he warned the state that the family planned to prosecute up to three civil suits, one in the name of McNair's estate and others on behalf of both parents. The three claims were filed with the state treasurer, each listing damages "exceeding $ 10 million". The documents triggered a review by the Attorney General's office, which is currently conducting its own investigation into McNair's death.
In his letter, Mr. Murphy stated that the board could not "take the unilateral decision to disregard Jordan's and his parents' rights" by publishing an unredacted report. The board did not say whether it intends to release the full report, parts or just a summary to the media.
"I find it incredible that you have never considered Jordan's and his family's right to privacy, nor their rights under federal and national privacy laws before deciding to publish this document in the media. ", wrote Murphy. "I find it even more incredible that you never contacted us to review the relationship with the Jordanian family to allow them to assert their right to privacy, medical and otherwise, under federal law and Maryland . It would be both cruel and unfair to Jordan's parents if the first time they heard the findings and conclusions of the report came from news reports and we respectfully request that this not happen. "
[ad_2]
Source link
