Plancher’s Teammate Testifies In Wrongful Death Trial

According to Central Florida Future, former UFC football player Cody Minnich testified in a wrongful death case that coach George O’Leary ordered athletic trainer to remove water from the indoor practice facility during Ereck Plancher’s final workout.

Minich told a jury that the athletic trainers were not near the players as they were training on an obstacle course and that no one helped Plancher when he was in distress. Minnich said the coaches reaction to Plancher’s distress was more about criticizing his poor performance than providing him assistance.

Circuit Judge Robert M. Evans instructed the jury to give Minnich’s testimony the same weight as any other witness in the Plancher wrongful death trial. Minnich was a member of the football team and present during Plancher’s last workout on March 18, 2008. Plancher collapsed and died following the offseason conditioning drills held by the UCF coach and staff.

Minnich described the workout as grueling and extremely difficult, saying he had vomited and suffered from blurred vision and dizziness. The coach is expected to testify Wednesday in the wrongful death trial. Plancher’s family is suing the UCF Athletic Association for punitive damages, saying the team did not do enough to help Ereck.

Wooten, Kimbrough, Damaso, and Dennis, P.A. – Orlando personal injury lawyers