Stafon Johnson Sues USC Over Weight-Room Accident That Crushed Throat

LOS ANGELES (CBS/KCBS/AP) Stafon Johnson, a former running back for the University of Southern California, is suing the school, and an assistant conditioning coach, for negligence in the weight-room accident that crushed his throat in 2009.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeks unspecified damages.

Johnson was bench-pressing 275 pounds in the USC weight room when the bar dropped or fell onto his neck in September 2009. His throat and larynx were crushed and he required reconstructive surgery.

Assistant strength and conditioning coach, Jamie Yanchar, who was responsible for spotting Johnson during his lifting, was also named in the complaint.

According to CBS affiliate KCBS, the lawsuit claims Yanchar was "distracted and not paying attention to Mr. Johnson at the time that the bar was being lifted from the weight rack," as the plaintiff was lifting 275 pounds for the first time.

As Yanchar placed the weight bar into the player's hands, he was inattentive and negligent and hit the bar with his body before Johnson had a good grip on it, KCBS reports.

Yanchar now works for the Seattle Seahawks with former USC coach Pete Carroll. Johnson played for the Tennessee Titans in the 2010 NFL preseason but was sidelined by a game injury.