Former NFL players in latest suit accuse league of fraud, negligence in handling concussions – NFL News
The National Football League (NFL) has become a subject of another lawsuit over its concussion policies, now filed by a number former players.
In their suit, as many as seven ex-league players have accused the league office of fraud and negligence in handling of head injuries to players.
The lawsuit filed by seven players in Philadelphia, accuses the league’s officials of hiding information and evidence of concussions, linking the injury to dementia and brain disease.
"Rather than warn players that they risked permanent brain injury if they returned to play too soon after sustaining a concussion, the NFL actively deceived players, by misrepresenting to them that concussions did not present serious, life-altering risks,"
it says.
The ex-players who have sued the NFL include former Philadelphia Eagles Ron Solt.
The player has suffered a substantial loss of his memory. Other leading player is Rich Miano, an assistant coach of University of Hawaii. He is asymptomatic and in medical monitoring.
The latest suit follows more than half dozen suits that had been filed by the players at various courts earlier.
Almost all of them attacked the NFL’s concussion policies and are seeking compensation against their injuries and vows, they claim to have suffered as a result of those policies.
Meanwhile, the league office has continued to deny the allegations saying the safety and security of its players have always its priority and will be apparently defending all those accusations.
"The NFL has long made player safety a priority and continues to take steps to protect players and to advance the science and medical understanding of the management and treatment of concussions," spokesman Brian McCarthy said. "The NFL has never misled
players with respect to the risks associated with playing football."
The NFL will seek to consolidate all the suits in one court. The office is expected to ask the federal judges next week to unify all the suits before the US District Judge, Anita B. Brody.
The league office has pleaded in his filing in response to the suits that all these suits should be dismissed on the grounds which restrict the players under their collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) to file these claims.
It is yet again that the league office has come under fire of his handling of head injuries in the past and at present.
Apart from the suits, the office was recently attacked over handling of the head injury of the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback, Colt McCoy, by some of players and commentators.
They believed that Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, James Harrison, should have been handled more sternly over his helmet-to-helmet hit on McCoy that resulted in concussion.
Harrison was suspended for one game and according to them it was too lenient punishment for the player, who has allegedly committed same foul for fifth time in past two years.
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