Former Clemson baseball player Grant Cox files malpractice lawsuit against university

Former Clemson baseball player Grant Cox has filed a lawsuit alleging medical malpractice and negligence against the university and its sports medicine department.

The lawsuit claims that during the treatment of an injury Cox suffered in 2016 Clemson willfully and wantonly “fell below the accepted standard of care for a reasonably prudent athletic program.”

The suit asserts that Clemson’s improper actions and inaction cost Cox his baseball career and facilitated the physical ailments and inconveniences he still endures.

Cox filed the suit Jan. 24 in Pickens County through his attorney, Harold Christian Jr. The Clemson athletic department responded by phone to requests from The News, but a spokesman, on behalf of the university, declined to comment on the ongoing case.

Cox, a Simpsonville native, signed with Clemson in 2014 after a standout career at Greenville High. He suffered a lower leg injury during a fall 2016 preseason training session. He reported to the team’s athletic trainer, Travis Johnston, for treatment.

According to the court filing, that treatment included “extensive dry-needling, heat therapy, ankle restriction” and baseball fielding drills while wearing a protective boot. Clemson referred Cox to the Blue Ridge Orthopedic Clinic. During his rehabilitation, medical professionals determined Cox had an accessory soleus muscle in his right ankle, a rare growth of an additional muscle attached to the existing lower leg muscles. According to a study in the South African Orthopedic Journal, the condition occurs in less than six percent of the population worldwide. 

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Cox was then referred to Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte, who surgically excised the muscle on Nov. 30, 2016. According to the claim, Clemson “had an arrangement with Dr. Anderson whereby the Clemson Sports Medicine Department would provide all post-surgical care.”

The lawsuit alleges that during Cox’s recovery and rehab Clemson directed him to conduct “various strenuous range of motion exercises” including fielding drills that contradicted Dr. Anderson’s recommendations.

Cox asserts that during the four months following the surgery, he “was not seen by a physician and received no post-surgical physician follow-up, evaluation nor treatment” and thus, his recovery was unnecessarily hampered.

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Cox also asserts that, during that four-month span, Johnston and other members of the Clemson sports medicine department declared that his lack of progress was psychological.

“In sports, definitely in the bigger Division I level, everybody's going to have to play through some pain,” Cox said. “I'm not afraid of playing through some pain. I've probably played through too much pain, but I'd never reached the point where I literally could not do something because I couldn't move.

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“I couldn't feel my leg. You can't do much when you can't feel something. That's like trying to grab a water bottle when you can't feel your arm. You might see it, but it's going to be hard to do.”

In March 2017, Cox’s parents arranged a visit with Dr. Anderson, who recommended additional testing. Subsequent tests revealed potential nerve damage and “significant deficits and defects.” Dr. Anderson recommended “intensive rehabilitation, specific to the deficits of strength of the right lower extremity and an independent consult with a different therapist or trainer.”

The lawsuit claims that during Cox’s recovery that spring, Monte Lee, who was in his second season as Clemson’s head coach, pulled Cox’s scholarship. Cox remains enrolled at Clemson and plans to graduate in May. He is still listed as a student coach.

Cox still conducts weekly extensive rehabilitation therapy and treatment in Greenville, independent of Clemson. He underwent an additional surgery to repair a hip injury, which the lawsuit suggests “could possibly be related to participating in fielding and other baseball activities performed in the boot.” Cox underwent another surgery approximately one year ago to treat chronic ankle pain.

“I definitely have like a limp that some days, especially early on in the day, is a little more noticeable than others,” Cox said. “I still can't run. I'm still going through it. I still struggle with it.”

The lawsuit seeks damages for “loss of past, present and future enjoyment of life; past, present and future medical expenses; loss of income earnings and opportunities; mental anguish and suffering; pain and suffering; loss of mobility.”

“While this injury and lack of proper care brought a promising baseball career to an end, our goal is to try to prevent this from happening to other young student athletes,” Christian said.