Mega-lawsuit says NFL hid brain injury links
By MARYCLAIRE DALE
updated 11:20 a.m. ET June 7, 2012
PHILADELPHIA
- A concussion-related lawsuit bringing together scores of cases has
been filed in federal court, accusing the NFL of hiding information that
linked football-related head trauma to permanent brain injuries.
Lawyers
for former players say more than 80 pending lawsuits are consolidated
in the "master complaint" filed Thursday in Philadelphia.
Plaintiffs
hope to hold the NFL responsible for the care of players suffering from
dementia, Alzheimer's disease and other neurological conditions. Other
former players remain asymptomatic, but worry about the future and want
medical monitoring.
The suit accuses the NFL of "mythologizing" and glorifying violence through the media, including its NFL Films division.
"The
NFL, like the sport of boxing, was aware of the health risks associated
with repetitive blows producing sub-concussive and concussive results
and the fact that some members of the NFL player population were at
significant risk of developing long-term brain damage and cognitive
decline as a result," the complaint charges.
"Despite
its knowledge and controlling role in governing player conduct on and
off the field, the NFL turned a blind eye to the risk and failed to warn
and/or impose safety regulations governing this well-recognized health
and safety problem."
The league has denied similar accusations in the past.
"Our
legal team will review today's filing that is intended to consolidate
plaintiffs' existing claims into one "master" complaint," the NFL said
in a statement. "The NFL has long made player safety a priority and
continues to do so. Any allegation that the NFL sought to mislead
players has no merit. It stands in contrast to the league's many actions
to better protect players and advance the science and medical
understanding of the management and treatment of concussions."
The
NFL provides a series of medical benefits to former NFL players to help
them after football, including joint replacement, neurological
evaluations and spine treatment programs, assisted living partnerships,
long-term care insurance, prescription benefits, life insurance
programs, and a Medicare supplement program.
One
of the programs, the 88 Plan, named after Hall of Fame tight end John
Mackey, provides funding to treat dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Players do not need to demonstrate that
the condition was caused by their participation in the NFL.
Overall,
the NFL, in partnership with the NFLPA, has spent more than a billion
dollars on pensions, medical and disability benefits for retired
players.
Mary Ann Easterling will remain a
plaintiff despite the April suicide of her husband, former Atlanta
Falcons safety Ray Easterling, who had been a named plaintiff in a suit
filed last year.
Easterling, 62, suffered
from undiagnosed dementia for many years that left him angry and
volatile, his widow said. He acted out of character, behaving oddly at
family parties and making risky business decisions that eventually cost
them their home. They were married 36 years and had one daughter. She
believes the NFL has no idea what families go through.
"I
wish I could sit down with (NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell) and share
with him the pain. It's not just the spouses, it's the kids, too,"
Easterling, 59, told The Associated Press from her home in Richmond, Va.
"Kids don't understand why Dad is angry all the time."
Ray
Easterling played for the Falcons from 1972 to 1979, helping to lead
the team's "Gritz Blitz" defense in 1977 that set the NFL record for
fewest points allowed in a season. He never earned more than $75,000
from the sport, his widow said. After his football career, he started a
financial services company, but had to abandon the career in about 1990,
plagued by insomnia and depression, she said.
"I
think the thing that was so discouraging was just the denial by the
NFL," Mary Ann Easterling said. "His sentiment toward the end was that
if he had a choice to do it all over again, he wouldn't (play). ... He
was realizing how fast he was going downhill."
The
list of notable former players connected to concussion lawsuits is
extensive and includes the family of Dave Duerson, who shot himself last
year. Ex-quarterback Jim McMahon, Duerson's teammate on Super
Bowl-winning 1985 Chicago Bears, has been a plaintiff.
The
cases are being consolidated for pretrial issues and discovery before
Senior U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody in Philadelphia.
The
players accuse the NFL of negligence and intentional misconduct in its
response to the headaches, dizziness and dementia that former players
have reported, even after forming the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Committee to study the issue in 1994.
"After
voluntarily assuming a duty to investigate, study, and truthfully
report to the public and NFL players, including the Plaintiffs, the
medical risks associated with MTBI in football, the NFL instead produced
industry-funded, biased, and falsified research that falsely claimed
that concussive and sub-concussive head impacts in football do not
present serious, life-altering risks," the complaint says.
The problem of concussions in the NFL has moved steadily into the litigation phase for about a year.
According
to an AP review of 81 lawsuits filed through May 25, the plaintiffs
include 2,138 players who say the NFL did not do enough to inform them
about the dangers of head injuries. The total number of plaintiffs in
those cases is 3,356, which includes players, spouses and other
relatives or representatives.
Some of the plaintiffs are named in more than one complaint, but the AP count does not include duplicated names in the total.
"We want to see them take care of the players," Mary Ann Easterling said.
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