The parents of a Central Catholic High School football player who died of a stroke in 2008 have sued the two hospitals that treated him, accusing doctors of malpractice for not recognizing what they claim were head injuries suffered at football practice.

Kyle Wilson, 17, of Coraopolis, was attending another game as a fan in Monroeville on Oct. 23 when he collapsed in the bathroom.

He was treated at Forbes Regional Hospital and released, but the next day his parents took him to Children's Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.

He remained in critical condition after the surgery for three days until he was pronounced brain dead on Oct. 27.

In their suit, filed Tuesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, Kyle's parents say doctors at Forbes Regional, which is run by West Penn Allegheny Health System, failed to treat Kyle's head injuries from a collision in football practice the day before.

The parents, Derrick Wilson and Stephanie Faulkner, made similar claims against Children's, which is operated by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Last year, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office said the death did not appear to be related to football but said more tests were needed.

Since then, the office has ruled that the cause of death was an abnormality in Kyle's vertebrae and that the manner of death was natural.

The parents' lawyer didn't return a call yesterday. Children's Hospital and West Penn both said they do not comment on pending litigation.

Central Catholic coaches said last year that Kyle never showed signs of any medical problems and did not suffer a concussion.

Kyle was attending a Gateway-McKeesport game when he passed out in the bathroom at Gateway High School's stadium. According to the suit, he had a sudden onset of nausea and told paramedics he had vomited several times.

He also said he was a football player and had a "helmet to helmet collision" the day before, according to the suit. The doctor at Forbes Regional noted that Kyle's speech was slurred and that he had a headache, according to the suit.

A CAT scan showed nothing abnormal, but the doctor should have known that the scan sometimes doesn't show bleeding when it is present, according to the suit. The complaint also says the doctor should have done an MRI.

In addition, the complaint said, the Forbes Regional personnel were "busy attending another staff member's birthday party and were distracted from treating Kyle Wilson in a proper manner."

The doctor released Kyle.

But the next day, his mother had trouble getting him up and took him to Children's. The complaint said a doctor there didn't order a CAT scan for hours after his arrival despite symptoms of a concussion.

About three hours after he was admitted, Kyle's face grew flushed, he became unresponsive and began drooling. At that point, the doctor ordered a CAT scan and discovered evidence of a stroke.

Kyle underwent emergency surgery that evening but never regained consciousness.

Torsten Ove can be reached at tove@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1510.

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