The mother of Zeke Upshaw, the Grand Rapids Drive player who died two days after collapsing on the court during a game, has refiled a wrongful death suit with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The action occurred last week.
Upshaw, 26, collapsed at The DeltaPlex Arena near the end of a game on March 24.
The response by the medical staff for the Drive, Gatorade League affiliate of the Detroit Pistons, forms the basis of the lawsuit filed against the DeltaPlex and Steve Jbara's SSJ Group, a Birmingham-based LLC that shares ownership of the Drive with the Pistons.
The Pistons and the NBA are also listed as defendants in the action.
The original suit was filed in May at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York but was withdrawn.
The suit reveals that less than a year before Upshaw died, he fainted while playing basketball and was diagnosed with heart disease.
A second heart test in October 2017 presented a normal diagnosis and he was cleared, but the suit claims he did not receive any basic life-saving treatment for more than four minutes after he fell face-down to the floor and his oxygen-deprived brain began to die.
The suit alleges negligence, and video of the incident published online shows life-saving treatments were not immediately administered.
The Free Press obtained the Kent County Medical Examiner's autopsy report, which stated Upshaw was put through concussion protocol after suffering a sudden cardiac event, and medical experts say the delay in appropriate treatment could have played a role in his death.
“The sooner somebody gets help, the better,” Dr. David Bach told the Free Press. “In the heart world, we say time is muscle. That the longer an oxygen-deprived interval goes on, the more muscle is at risk. And I’m sure that the same is true for the brain.”
Bach specializes in cardiovascular and internal medicine at University of Michigan Medical school.
The lawsuit requests a jury trial.
A phone message was left at the Dearborn law office of Courtney E. Morgan, who is listed as one of the attorneys representing Jewel Upshaw.
Forbes was first to report the news of the change.
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