Mann Ex Rel. Estate of Mann v. Palmerton Area School District, 872 F.3d 165

In November 2011, 17-year-old student-athlete Sheldon Mann sustained a hard hit in football practice, showed concussion-like symptoms, was told by Coach Chris Walkowiak he was "fine," was sent back into practice, suffered a second violent hit, and later was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.
Teammates and other coaches testified that Sheldon exhibited dizziness/stumbling and that standard procedure was to remove players with concussion-like symptoms; Walkowiak had concussion training and acknowledged knowing concussion signs.
Palmerton Area’s Athletic Handbook required injured players to be excluded until cleared by a physician and to be sent to the athletic trainer, but plaintiffs argued it lacked a specific concussion protocol and training was inadequate.
Sheldon’s parents sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983: (1) a state-created danger claim against Walkowiak (Fourteenth Amendment bodily integrity) and (2) a Monell claim against Palmerton Area for failure to train or maintain policies.
The District Court granted summary judgment for Walkowiak (qualified immunity) and Palmerton Area (no municipal liability), and the Third Circuit affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Walkowiak’s conduct gives rise to a state-created danger violation of the Fourteenth Amendment	Mann: Coach knew or should have known of concussion signs, affirmatively sent Sheldon back, creating foreseeable risk of further head injury	Walkowiak: Did not see the first hit, was told by Sheldon he was fine; no conscience-shocking conduct	Court: Evidence was sufficient to raise jury question that coach’s deliberate indifference could satisfy state-created danger elements
Whether Walkowiak is entitled to qualified immunity for November 2011 conduct	Mann: Right to be protected from further exposure after showing concussion signs was violated and clearly established	Walkowiak: No controlling precedent made the right clearly established in 2011; reasonable mistake possible	Court: Right existed but was not clearly established in 2011; qualified immunity applies
Whether Palmerton Area is liable under Monell for failure to train or policy defects regarding concussions	Mann: District’s handbook and training were inadequate; other districts had concussion policies; failure caused violation	Palmerton Area: No pattern of similar violations or notice; statute requiring training only enacted Nov. 9, 2011 and not yet effective	Court: Plaintiffs failed to show municipal deliberate indifference or pattern; Monell claim fails

Monell v. Department of Social Services of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658 (municipal liability requires a policy or custom causing the constitutional violation)
Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (qualified immunity standard)
Bright v. Westmoreland Cty., 443 F.3d 276 (state-created danger four-part test)
Spady v. Bethlehem Area School District, 800 F.3d 633 (framing rights in school athletic contexts; qualified immunity analysis)
L.R. v. School District of Philadelphia, 836 F.3d 235 (clearly established right where harm to vulnerable child was patently obvious)
Kneipp v. Tedder, 95 F.3d 1199 (state actor abandonment of obviously impaired person creates clearly established danger)
Wilson v. Layne, 526 U.S. 603 (contours of clearly established rights must be sufficiently clear)
Ashcroft v. Al‑Kidd, 563 U.S. 731 (qualified immunity protects all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law)
Thomas v. Cumberland County, 749 F.3d 217 (failure-to-train liability where evidence shows pattern and need for training)