Ex-Iowa football player sues over workout injury

A football player who attended the University of Iowa filed a lawsuit against the school on Monday for a 2011 incident in which he and 12 other players were hospitalized for a high-intensity workout.

Former Hawkeyes cornerback William Lowe is suing the school because the injuries he suffered were preventable and caused lasting harm. He advocates that during the Jan. 20, 2011 workout the coaches and trainers failed to properly supervise.

He also says the school failed to offer medical care after he and others initially reported severe pain and symptoms, and that his injuries were aggravated because he was required to participate in additional workouts in the following days.

The 24-year-old continues to say that the team's leaders were careless in "developing and implementing a dangerous improper training program," according to the Associated Press, and that they should have to pay for the damages and his suffering.

Lowe and the other players involved were diagnosed with exertional rhabdomyolysis, which is when muscles break down and release proteins into the bloodstream, which can cause kidney failure.

The alleged workout is held once every three years to determine stamina and mental toughness, and essentially is a test to see who wants to be on the team. It included 100 back squats which is "significantly associated" with an increased risk of rhabdomyolysis, according to a University of Iowa study published last year.

Directly following, Lowe reported "substantial leg pain and stiffness as well as abnormally dark urine" as well as atypical fatigue. Despite this, he and the others were forced to participate in several mandatory workouts after that.

He was released from the hospital Feb. 2, but still suffered from weight loss, lower back and leg pain, headaches and high blood pressure over the next several months. Not to mention costs for medical care, therapy, drugs and other treatment from this mental and physical pain.

The university's investigative committee never accused the trainers or coaches, including coach Kirk Ferentz, of any wrongdoing. The players were later cleared to return to the team, but Lowe never did.