After 22 days of testimony from more...

After 22 days of testimony from more than 50 witnesses, Marc Buoniconti’s $16.5-million negligence suit against The Citadel’s football team physician goes to the jury today.

Buoniconti was left a quadriplegic in a football accident in 1985 and is suing Citadel team physician Dr. E.K. Wallace Jr., claiming negligence in connection with the incident.

Buoniconti, the son of former Miami Dolphins star Nick Buoniconti, was Citadel’s starting middle linebacker when he was injured while making a tackle in a game at East Tennessee State. The suit alleges that Wallace was negligent in treating a neck sprain Buoniconti suffered several weeks before the game. It also charges that Wallace failed to warn him that abnormalities in his neck made it dangerous for him to continue playing football.

The defense contends that the injury was Buoniconti’s fault because he speared running back Herman Jacobs on the play, hitting him with the top of his helmet in violation of football rules.