A Hudson County woman looks to hold USA Wrestling and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee responsible for her husband’s 2024 death.
Elena Pirozhkov’s husband, Alan Vera Garcia, died at 33 years old in July 2024 after suffering “acute-on-chronic congestive heart failure secondary to cardiomyopathy produced by Marfan syndrome and an inherited connective-tissue disorder.”
The lawsuit, filed by Vera’s widow in state Superior Court on Sept. 22, says he was a Greco-Roman wrestler and a member of the U.S. National Team and Team Program, competing domestically and internationally. The suit says Vera competed internationally in 2019 and then from 2021 through 2024 and had gotten his annual medical certificates, clearances and international licenses needed to compete as a National Team wrestler. Pirozhkov is a former Olympic wrestler who competed in the 2012 and 2016 Games.
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The licensing included a United World Wrestling international license, and its medical regulations “imposed essential health requirements” for wrestlers and required them to have an annual exam “at an approved or authorized medical institution, conducted by a specialist in sports medicine or a sports-medicine institution.”
“These requirements were intended to identify potentially life-threatening or disabling conditions, including cardiomyopathy, aortopathy, Marfan syndrome and other conditions associated with sudden cardiac arrest during intense physical activity,” the complaint says.
It says USA Wrestling and the USOPC had a responsibility to ensure the safety of their athletes and to identify any health issues. The suit says Vera and his family depended on the organizations to ensure that all procedures were carried out competently and that documentation was accurate.
“When USA Wrestling and the USOPC send athletes to the world stage, they have a duty to implement and ensure their wrestlers are fit for competition,” said Jeffrey Krawitz, Pirozhkov’s attorney. “As we allege, USA Wrestling and the USOPC failed to enforce necessary medical clearances, including full cardiac screenings, when certifying Alan’s fitness to wrestle.”
Krawitz said he and his client believe that the organizations’ failure led to Vera’s death at only 33 years old from something that a “proper cardiac screening was designed to catch.”
“He leaves behind a wife and daughter who must face an uncertain future without him,” Krawitz said. “As difficult as it is for her emotionally, given Alan’s untimely death, Ms. Pirozhkov is bringing this lawsuit to hold USA Wrestling and the USOPC accountable for their actions and omissions, and to hopefully prevent other families from enduring such a tragic loss.”
The suit alleges that the organizations treated Vera’s medical clearance “as a paperwork exercise and failed to ensure that the examination on each certificate was been adequately performed and/or performed at all.”
Richard Immel, the director of communications for USA Wrestling, said it had not formally received the complaint.
“We have no comment at this time,” Immel said.
A USA Wrestling coordinator said he found no medical issues based on Vera’s resting heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, oxygen saturation and daily symptom and injury checks in January 2021, but his account didn’t document the required medical and family history, cardiopulmonary and Marfan-focused exam, or evaluation by a sports-medicine physician. However, that doctor is identified on his United World Wrestling medical certificate. Vera’s 2022 exam also didn’t have the required histories and exams, the suit says.
In December 2022, Vera underwent an evaluation with the USOPC at its training center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which cleared him for unrestricted participation and also did not document the required histories and exams.
In June 2023, at a competition in Newark, Vera convulsed, had trouble breathing and said he couldn’t feel or move his arms and legs. The suit says there was no exam or “appropriate follow-up investigation” of his unexplained symptoms, despite rules requiring an alert, and that medical personnel were responsible to determine whether a wrestler could return to competition safely.
The lawsuit says there was no report or exam record for Vera’s episode in Newark and there was no alert, which prevented it from becoming part of his medical history and “concealed a critical warning from the people” who cleared him. His clearance wasn’t suspended, he didn’t get the required cardiac workup and the incident was not disclosed, the suit says.
Vera’s 2024 certificate was issued but didn’t indicate whether the doctor who signed it had gotten his complete medical file or had ordered any kind of cardiac exam, and he was cleared to complete. Vera died in the hospital after he collapsed during a pickup soccer game.
The complaint accuses the defendants of negligence, gross negligence and recklessness, corporate negligence and wrongful death. The suit also says that because of Vera’s death, Pirozhkov will suffer without his company, and she is seeking damages.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ woman sues USA Wrestling, Olympic committee over husband’s death
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