Mom of Tarrant County teen who died after collapsing at football practice sues medical provider

Kyrell Debbs was 13 years old when he collapsed at a football practice as his mother rushed to get him some water, unaware her son had a pre-existing heart condition that would ultimately cause his death.

Now, Monica Debbs is suing the health provider that pronounced her son fit to play, KXAS-TV (NBC5) reported.

The Dallas County lawsuit accuses a CareNow doctor of failing to notice anything was amiss even though Kyrell, an eighth-grader at Summer Creek Middle School in Tarrant County’s Crowley ISD, had complained of chest pain and fatigue during physical activity.

“The standard of care in Texas requires a formal investigation, a formal full workup when you answer yes to these questions and that wasn’t done in this case,” said Mark Annick, who is part of Debbs’ legal team.

In a statement issued in answer to inquiries from NBC5, Medical City Health, CareNow’s parent company, said: “Our hearts go out to this family regarding the loss of their loved one. This is a tragedy, particularly because it involves a child, and we continue to keep them in our thoughts and prayers.”

Kyrell, identified as Kyrell McBridge-Johnson in previous reports, was among team players running drills outdoors on Aug. 22, 2018, when he collapsed. Debbs said she had seen him signaling for water and moving erratically when he began running toward her before he collapsed.

Paramedics and coaches performed CPR on the boy, who was eventually pronounced dead at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth.

Debbs told the news station she hopes the suit will force medical staff to be more attentive during young athletes’ physicals and keep other parents from similar experiences.

“I want them to take accountability,” she said. “I basically put my life in the doctor’s hands to make the right decision and they completely made the wrong decision.”