COLUMBIA — The University of Missouri System and its insurer will pay about $2 million to the parents of Aaron O'Neal and establish a $250,000 scholarship endowment fund in his memory as part of the settlement of the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents against employees of MU's athletics department.
As part of the settlement, neither the UM System nor the 14 employees of the athletics department named in the lawsuit will be held liable for O'Neal's death.
The terms of the settlement were approved in Boone County Circuit Court by Boone County Circuit Judge Gary Oxenhandler in a hearing Thursday afternoon.
As part of the settlement Aaron O'Neal's father, Lonnie O'Neal, will receive 65 percent of the settlement, or about $1.3 million. Deborah O'Neal, Aaron O'Neal's mother, will receive 35 percent, or about $700,000. In addition, the UM System will pay the $10,333.95 in the plaintiff's taxable court costs.
MU will award a scholarship from the Aaron O'Neal endowment to a student athlete each year. The $250,000 will come from unrestricted funds from the MU Athletic Department's budget, UM System Chief of Staff David Russell said after the hearing today.
Russell said the scholarship was offered by the UM System to honor O'Neal.
A tentative settlement agreement in the lawsuit was reached on Feb. 20 after an independent mediation. On Tuesday, UM System General Counsel Steve Owens said the parties had been discussing ways to resolve the case since its filing.
The lawsuit was filed on Aug. 23, 2005, by Aaron O'Neal's father. His mother, Deborah O'Neal, was later added to the lawsuit.
The suit alleged that trainers, coaches and staff didn't properly care for O'Neal after he collapsed during a voluntary workout on July 12, 2005. He later died at University Hospital.
As of Feb. 25, the UM System had spent almost $375,000 in legal defense costs , according to documents obtained by the Missourian under the Sunshine Law.
Check back with the Missourian for more information.