Two students have filed lawsuits against Huntington Beach High School claiming that improperly cleaned football equipment caused them to contract serious staph infections. The student-athletes contracted staph infections on their elbows, knees, forehead and chin areas. One of the claimants was hospitalized and underwent wound care therapy upon release as part of his prescribed recovery. The other student also incurred costly medical treatment. An article published by The Reeves Law Group states that the school has stubbornly refused to take any responsibility for the staph infections or the cleaning of the equipment. Staph, or staphyloccocus aureus, and its deadly counterpart, MRSA, affects young, healthy individuals and is most prevalent in contact sports such as football. It is epidemic in a few areas of the country - such as the state of Texas and the Los Angeles area. It would behoove all schools in the Los Angeles area to make the regular cleaning of athletic equipment an integral part of their risk management programs so as to avoid defending costly litigation. To read more about this litigation, click here.