A Bainbridge High School student and his parents have filed a civil lawsuit against the Decatur County School System and several current and former BHS football coaches, according to documents filed in the Decatur County Superior Court.

The plaintiffs are Joshua Sheard and his parents, Medgar and Angela Sheard. The lawsuit names, as defendants, the school system, varsity football head coach Ed Pilcher, current assistant coaches Jodie Sprenkle and Leonard Guyton, former coach Thomas Gilstrap and a school system employee referred to as “John Doe.”

The lawsuit alleges that Sheard “suffered severe injuries to his head and wrist” during a spring football practice that was held inside the BHS gym on April 20, 2010. The plaintiffs are seeking reimbursement for medical bills, as well as “compensation for conscious pain and suffering.”

The lawsuit states that, during the practice, Sheard “crashed into a wall in the gymnasium … even though the gymnasium floor was known by [the defendants] at the time of the practice to be slippery and dangerous,” because it had recently been waxed and polished.

Sheard was not listed on the varsity football rosters for either the 2011 or 2012 seasons.