$8 Million Verdict After 15-Year-Old Dies of Cardiac Arrest at Football Practice Without a Defibrillator on Campus

On May 17, 2016, Giovani Pulido collapsed near the end of football conditioning practice at Encinal High School in Alameda, California. He was 15 years old and had no known prior health problems. His coaches immediately began CPR and called 911. Paramedics arrived within approximately five minutes and attempted defibrillation, but they were too late. Giovani was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead that evening. The cause of death was determined to be sudden cardiac arrest.

The school had no automated external defibrillator (AED) on campus at the time. California law did not mandate AEDs at schools when the incident occurred, but the Pulido family's attorneys at BD&J argued that the absence of the device removed the one intervention most likely to have saved Giovani's life. The plaintiffs, Giovani's parents Antonio Pulido and Yolanda Mejia, also alleged that the district allowed Giovani to participate without completing required physical clearance procedures.

The district disputed causation, arguing Giovani suffered from an underlying genetic cardiac condition that would have been fatal regardless. The defense put the final pre-trial offer at $1,350,000. The plaintiffs, represented by Shawn McCann and Jesse French of BD&J, rejected that figure and took the case to trial.

After a nine-week trial before Judge Jo-Lynne Q. Lee, the jury deliberated for two and a half days. On January 22, 2020, the panel voted 12-0 on liability and returned a 9-3 damages verdict totaling $8 million, split equally between Giovani's parents: $1 million past and $3 million future non-economic damages to each. The jury found no comparative negligence on the part of the plaintiffs.

No appeal or post-verdict reduction has been reported in public court records or news coverage as of the time of publication.