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Racing Louisville and USWNT midfielder Savannah DeMelo has filed a lawsuit against a hospital and two physicians over alleged medical negligence that preceded her on-field cardiac arrest in September 2025.
DeMelo, who was 27 at the time, collapsed near the end of the first half during a match against Seattle Reign. No official explanation was given until Tuesday, when the midfielder used Instagram to disclose "an undiagnosed cardiac arrhythmia" as the cause of the cardiac arrest.
Court documents submitted to Jefferson Circuit Court in Kentucky reveal that DeMelo is pursuing legal action against University of Louisville Health (UofL Health) and two physicians, Dr. Sarabjeet Suri and Dr. Jennifer Daily, claiming the group failed to detect the condition.
"Such negligence was a substantial factor in causing DeMelo to suffer severe physical injuries, including, but not limited to, her cardiac arrest," the filing states.
Dr. Daily is believed to serve as Racing Louisville's chief medical officer, and the lawsuit indicates DeMelo was under her care from January 2024 through July 2026.
In March 2025, Dr. Daily reportedly referred DeMelo to Dr. Suri for additional testing related to symptoms of chest pain and shortness of breath. It was not until after the September cardiac arrest that DeMelo received a diagnosis of an abnormal heart rhythm.
DeMelo's History of On-Field Medical Scares
On March 22, 2025, DeMelo was forced to exit a match against Bay FC early due to medical concerns.
DeMelo sat down on the pitch and alerted the referee to her symptoms—dizziness, chest tightness, a racing heart, and difficulty breathing—which resulted in her being stretchered off the field.
Given her prior diagnoses of Graves' disease and hyperthyroidism, it was initially believed that the episode stemmed from a complication with her existing medication.
"Playing a 90-minute game felt unbearable," DeMelo told ESPN at the time. "I would get to maybe the 25th minute, and I felt like my heart was just like beating so fast, like out of my chest. I felt so out of breath, so out of shape. I didn't really know what was going on."
No confirmed connection has been established between the March 2025 episode and DeMelo's cardiac arrest later that year.
DeMelo, who has earned seven caps for the USWNT since her international debut in 2023, claims that the failure to identify her abnormal heart rhythm not only caused the cardiac arrest but also resulted in lost income throughout her recovery.