Savannah DeMelo Files Negligence Lawsuit After Cardiac Arrest

Savannah DeMelo, a rising midfielder for the United States women’s national team and Racing Louisville, has filed a negligence lawsuit against a Kentucky hospital and two doctors after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch last year.

The 28-year-old collapsed in the first half of a National Women’s Soccer League match on 14 September 2025, a moment that stunned teammates, opponents and fans at a stadium used to seeing her drive games from midfield rather than fight for her life.

On Tuesday morning, exactly a year and a day after that incident, DeMelo lodged her case with Jefferson Circuit Court in Kentucky, accusing University of Louisville Health (UofL Health) and two physicians – Dr Sarabjeet Suri and Dr Jennifer Daily – of failing in their duty of care.

Lawsuit alleges missed warning signs

According to court documents seen by BBC Sport, DeMelo’s filing claims UofL Health and the two doctors “failed to act as a reasonably prudent and competent medical practice, and such negligence was a substantial factor in causing DeMelo to suffer severe physical injuries, including, but not limited to, her cardiac arrest.”

Dr Daily is Racing Louisville’s chief medical officer, according to her online UofL biography, and the suit states DeMelo was under her care from January 2024 to July 2026.

The legal claim outlines a key timeline. In March 2025, months before her collapse, DeMelo reported chest pain, dizziness and shortness of breath. Dr Daily referred her to Dr Suri for “evaluation and treatment”. The lawsuit says Suri took a history, carried out a physical examination and ordered diagnostic tests.

Six months later, DeMelo went into cardiac arrest during a league match.

“She was subsequently diagnosed and treated for ventricular tachycardia [an abnormal heart rhythm],” the filing states, framing the on-field emergency as the culmination of symptoms she had raised earlier in the year.

Career on hold after on-field collapse

DeMelo has spent her entire professional career with Racing Louisville and had been emerging as a regular presence in the USWNT setup, winning seven senior caps and earning a place in the USA squad for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, where she started the team’s first two matches.

Since the collapse, she has not played.

The silence around her future has only heightened the sense of uncertainty. A dynamic midfielder entering what should be her prime has instead been locked in medical appointments, rehabilitation and now a legal battle over what, in her view, should have been prevented.

DeMelo speaks on anniversary of cardiac arrest

On Tuesday, DeMelo marked the anniversary of her collapse with a post on Instagram, offering a rare public glimpse into what the past year has cost her.

“A year ago today, while playing soccer, I collapsed due to an undiagnosed cardiac arrhythmia, that caused me to go into cardiac arrest,” she wrote.

“I respect and appreciate the privacy everyone has met me with while going through everything I have this year. I’ll never be able to fully put into words how emotionally hard this year has been. There has been a lot of uncertainty and emotions intertwined with it all.”

The lawsuit now runs alongside that emotional struggle, raising sharp questions about how one of the country’s top professionals could reach the point of cardiac arrest after reporting classic warning signs months earlier.

For DeMelo, the fight is no longer just about a return to the midfield. It is about whether this lost year of her career – and the terrifying minutes on that NWSL pitch – could and should have been avoided.