Wheeler Attorney Doesn’t Expect a Settlement

The attorney serving as co-counselor in the Rashidi Wheeler wrongful death lawsuit against Northwestern University said Thursday he’s convinced the case will proceed to trial without a settlement.

Tom Demetrio, the Chicago-based attorney representing Wheeler’s father, George Wheeler Jr. of Northridge, said that belief likely was a motivating factor behind the decision of Wheeler’s mother, Linda Will, to change legal teams Wednesday.

Rashidi Wheeler of Ontario and La Verne Damien High died Aug. 3 after collapsing during conditioning wind sprints at Northwestern. His family alleges in the suit that the trainers, treatment and emergency equipment at the scene were inadequate and contributed to Wheeler’s death, which was ruled to be the result of exercise-induced asthma by Cook County [Ill.] medical examiner Edmund Donoghue.

In an October statement regarding the university’s review of Wheeler’s death, Northwestern President Henry Bienen pointed to the possibility that Wheeler’s use of the dietary supplement ephedra played a major role in his death.

“By trying to discredit the findings of the medical examiner and by the president matter-of-factly stating his university went beyond the call of duty to save Rashidi’s life ... those are very adversarial positions to be taking, and I don’t see it ending,” Demetrio said.

Will dropped Jim Montgomery, the Chicago-based partner of attorney Johnnie Cochran, and hired Larry Rogers Sr. of the Chicago firm of Power, Rogers & Smith as lead attorney.

“Larry has proficiency in medical issues that will serve our cause well,” Demetrio said. Rogers, who last year settled a $43-million malpractice case for a woman who sustained brain damage after a procedure at a Chicago hospital, said: “[Will] took a look at our background, saw all the issues in the medical arena and thought our history made us better equipped to handle the issues tied to this case.”

Demetrio dismissed speculation that Will changed lawyers in an effort to revisit Montgomery’s October deal with Demetrio that designated Will and her former husband, George Wheeler Jr., as co-administrators of Rashidi Wheeler’s estate.