Former USC Lineman Armond Armstead Sues School over Painkiller Injections

Defensive tackle Armond Armstead is suing the University of Southern California—his former school—after claiming the medical staff gave him painkillers that resulted in a heart attack.

The news comes from The Sacramento Bee's Andy Furillo:

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A former University of Southern California football player from Elk Grove filed a lawsuit today charging that team doctors repeatedly administered a painkiller to him that gave him a heart attack, and that after he recovered the school blocked his attempts to transfer and cost him a shot at the National Football League.

The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court today by Armond Armstead, now 22 and playing in Canada, who said the injections of the prescription pain-killing drug Toradol were forced on him by coaches and doctors without his knowledge.

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According to the report, the specifics of the suit are mostly unknown, but Armstead could seek an amount that gets into the "tens of millions of dollars."

The potential damages are so steep because the former lineman is claiming that USC's doctors forced the painkillers on him, which in turn played a part in his minor heart attack and thus killed his chances at being selected as a high NFL draft pick. 

Armstead came to the Trojans in 2008 as a 4-star recruit and the third-best defensive-tackle prospect in the nation, according to Rivals. 

During his sophomore season, Armstead broke his foot and was forced to miss the first five games. That's when he was first shot up with Toradol, which is a non-steroidal painkiller, similar to ibuprofen. 

The USC medical staff shot him up several more times during his breakout season in 2010 when he suffered a shoulder sprain. 

Finally, less than a year later, Armstead first started having chest pains and the staff at the University Park Health Center once again injected him with the drug. It was revealed in early March, just a few months after that final incident, that he had suffered a minor heart attack. 

According to the suit, Armstead is suing "football team physician Dr. James Tibone and the University Park Health Center."

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