NFL Concussion Class Action Litigation
Our firm has filed a class action lawsuit against the NFL and Riddell and its affiliates in response to their misrepresentations and out right suppression of the serious health effects of concussions experienced by NFL players.
Mr. McCorvey was appointed by the Judge Anita Brody to serve on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, “PSC.” The “PSC” is responsible for prosecuting all former NFL Players’ claims against the NFL and Riddell now that all of the many lawsuits have been consolidated. Mr. McCorvey is the only former NFL player serving on the “PSC.” With Mr. McCorvey on the “PSC” all former players have a representative at the table in this litigation when decisions are being made to achieve the best results for the players. See one of our suits here.
Concussions and dings have been linked to altered mood and early onset of other disorders, namely Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, (CTE), or dementia. The most important part of treating these issues is to get tested early and catch the altered mood or other issues before it becomes something bigger. We recommend that every former player, (even if you feel completely healthy), get an exam and be aware of their rights. There are resources available for you, call our office today at 1-888-291-2431 to get involved with this litigation.
We believe and intend to prove in Court that the NFL teams and Coaches knew or should have known that they were putting their players in danger when they made them play after experiencing concussions and dings, and did not take concussions and dings seriously when their players got them.
The Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee was formed by the NFL to give League friendly answers to these questions raised about multiple concussions and neurological damage to football players in the mid 90s but they punted the ball and allowed more players to be injured and face long term neurological damage.
The NFL finally admitted that concussions can lead to dementia, memory loss and other symptoms in June of 2010. The NFL along with Riddell, the manufacturer of their helmets, are now being sued for fraud, negligence and failure to warn in multiple class actions filed around the country; all of which have been consolidated into one large federal class action that has been assigned to the Eastern District Court in Philadelphia, PA.
Below are videos and excerpts from prominent studies that clearly show a link between multiple concussions and various brain injuries. The NFL and Riddell has intentionally mislead and suppressed the truth about the serious of concussion from its players for your years.
(a) more than 61 % had suffered at least one concussion in their careers with 30 % of the players having three or more and 15 % having five or more; (b) 51% had been knocked unconscious more than once; (c) 73 % of those injured said they were not required to sit on the sidelines after their head trauma; (d) 49 % of the former players had numbness or tingling; 28 % had neck or cervical spine arthritis; 31 % had difficulty with memory; 16 % were unable to dress themselves; and 11 % were unable to feed themselves; and (e) eight suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz of University of North Carolina Studies The study, published in the September-October issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine, suggests that the brain is more susceptible to injury when it has not had enough time to recover from a first injury. Researchers say the finding is important because concussions can lead to permanent brain damage, vision impairment or even death if not managed properly.” Study done in 2000.
“We believe recurrences are more likely because injured players are returning to practice and to games too quickly after blows to the head, said Dr. Kevin M. Guskiewicz, assistant professor of exercise and sport science at UNC-CH and study leader. Many clinicians are not following the medical guidelines that players should be symptom-free for several days before returning.”UNC analyzed data from almost 2,500 retired NFL players and found that 263 of the retired players suffered from depression. The study found that having three or four concussions meant twice the risk of depression as never-concussed players and five or more concussions meant a nearly threefold risk. Study done in 2003. Mike Webster, Terry Long and Andre Waters Brain: Boston University School of Medicine’s Center for Traumatic Encephalopathy Examination
In articles published in Neurosurgery in 2005 and 2006, Omalu found that Webster’s and Long’s respective deaths were partially caused by CTE, related to multiple NFL concussions suffered during their professional playing years. Cantu reached a similar conclusion as to Waters in an article published in Neurosurgery in 2007.
The following photographs, available from Brain-Pad Blog, show the contrast between a normal brain (depicted on the left) and Webster’s autopsied brain (depicted on the right):
Latent injuries are not barred by the statute of limitations
In civil cases, statutes of limitations (restrictions on how long plaintiffs may wait before filing a suit after an alleged wrong) serve to assure that claims are pursued in a timely manner. The statute of limitations (SOL) for a claim will vary depending on the state and the particular cause of action. Typically the defendant bears the burden of proving the claim is barred by the SOL.
The traditional time of Injury rule starts the running of the SOL clock at the point when the plaintiff initially experiences the injury or harm. In the NFL concussion litigation context, the clock would start when the player incurred the concussion(s). Over time, however, and especially with the rise of asbestos exposure and toxic tort cases, courts began to see the need to allow flexibility for insidious and latent diseases, those where the symptoms of the disease do not manifest until much later. The discovery rule, an equitable doctrine that may arise out of common law or statute, emerged as a solution to this problem.
In the NFL concussion lawsuits, the discovery rule plays a key role in allowing players to bring claims from injuries initially sustained years or even decades ago. Given the nature of traumatic brain injury, it is often difficult to pinpoint a specific injury or moment in time when the harm was initially experienced. Many of the players experienced repeated concussions over a long period of time, and in some cases the symptoms came on gradually or appeared much later than the actual trauma.
Furthermore, under the discovery rule, a Plaintiff’s ignorance is generally not a valid reason to toll the statute, his illness must be such that he could not have reasonably known he was injured until the time of discovery. This concept ties in directly with one of the plaintiffs’ central assertions: the players argue that the NFL’s negligence and concealment in failing to educate them about the harms and symptoms of traumatic brain injury prevented them from discovering their illness until recently. Thus, according to the players, there is no way they should have known they were suffering from the disease until the NFL disclosed the link between concussions and long-term brain injury beginning with its educational efforts in 2009.
Call us today at 1-888-291-2431 for a free case evaluation if you are a former player of the National Football League.