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As we have discussed in past posts, more than 100 former professional football players have brought personal injury lawsuits against the National Football League, alleging that the organization knew concussions could cause traumatic brain injuries, but failed to protect the players.
The players all claim to suffer from concussion-related brain injuries resulting from the sport and seek damages from the league. At least one of the lawsuits against the NFL accuses the league of trying to cover up any correlation between football and brain injuries.
The first claim was filed last summer in Philadelphia District Court by seven former NFL players. On Monday, another claim was filed in Philadelphia on behalf of 106 former players. It seeks more than $5 million in damages for traumatic brain injuries and neurodegenerative disorders.
Many more lawsuits have been and are expected to be filed by ex-players against the NFL in several other states. At a hearing on Jan. 26, the NFL will ask a federal judicial panel to consolidate all the cases to be heard before a U.S. Philadelphia District Court judge.
A few of the named plaintiffs in the cases include Hall of Famers Lem Barney, Joe DeLamielleure and Paul Krause, and former Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Brent Boyd.
According to his lawyers, Boyd is the only player still living to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathya, which is a degenerative disease that is caused by multiple head injuries and can lead to memory loss.
The NFL has denied any wrongdoing and has vowed to fight the allegations. An NFL spokesman said that the league has always made player safety “a priority” and has “never misled players with respect to the risks associated with playing football.”
This will be a very interesting personal injury case to follow.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, “NFL, ex-players want concussion suits heard in Pa.,” Jan. 9, 2012