Boy’s heart stopped after soccer practice in University Place. Could he have been saved?
The parents of a 13-year-old boy who died after suffering sudden cardiac arrest following a soccer practice in University Place have sued two youth soccer groups and Pierce County for wrongful death, court records show.

Lyric Berndt-Morrow collapsed on July 19, 2021, and died in the arms of his father, who had arrived to pick up his son from practice, according to a lawsuit filed July 18 in Pierce County Superior Court.

The suit, also filed on behalf of Lyric’s estate, alleged the defendants didn’t, and weren’t equipped to, provide aid to Lyric prior to his death and as he fell ill.

“The biggest motivating factor for mom and dad here is they don’t want this to happen again to someone else,” attorney Peter Kesling, who is representing the plaintiffs in the suit, said in an interview.

The complaint accused University Place Soccer Club, which was supervising Lyric, of failing to notice or acknowledge that the boy was experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest and exhibiting signs of one. Neither the club nor Washington Youth Soccer — the organization to which the club belonged — had AED defibrillators, a portable device that can revive someone when their heart stops, according to the filing.

Pierce County, which owned the soccer field used for practice, allegedly breached its duty to ensure the field was being used safely because it didn’t establish or enforce rules regarding sudden cardiac arrest or automated external defibrillators (AEDs), the lawsuit said.

Messages left with University Place Soccer Club and Washington Youth Soccer were not returned. In an email, Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Adam Faber said the county generally didn’t comment on pending litigation.

Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in young athletes, according to the Mayo Clinic. An autopsy showed that Lyric’s heart was healthy, the lawsuit said, and he didn’t have any traits that would suggest any cardiac issues.

Kesling said that representations had been made by the defendant soccer groups that they possessed AEDs and their coaches were trained in CPR.

“Prior to the Lyric’s tragic death, defendant UP Soccer handed out flyers, which included advertisement materials from defendant WYS, to parents of potential athletes warning that ‘SCA is the leading cause of death in young athletes during sports’ and which warned about the dangers of SCA and the importance of the utilization of AED Defibrillators within moments of SCA to save the life of the victim of SCA,” the suit said.

Lyric’s parents decided to enroll their son in soccer, in part, based on those representations, according to the suit.

Kesling said that Lyric ultimately received CPR from emergency responders after 911 was called. Although their response was fairly fast, an AED needed to be applied more quickly — within three to five minutes, he said.

If such relatively inexpensive emergency equipment had been available, Lyric would still be alive, according to the complaint. The filing said that an AED’s starting price was less than $500.

The suit seeks unspecified damages, legal fees and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.