NFL Sued over Concussions

Los Angeles, CAA lawsuit aimed at the National Football League has been brought by a collection of 75 former players who allege the league has willfully buried the facts about concussions, to the detriment of players. They allege the league has known since the 1920s about the harmful effects of head trauma, but concealed the information from players and their families.

The 86-page lawsuit characterizes the conduct of the NFL and co-defendant Riddell Inc. as engaging in a scheme of fraud and deceit with the participation of the league's Brain Injury Committee to deny any link between concussion and decline in brain function.

Various former NFL players have seriously declined in their years post-NFL. Some have committed suicide. A CNN report cites the case of former NFL player Dave Duerson, who at the age of 50 shot himself this past February—but not before leaving a note behind with instructions that his brain be donated for study in the field of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

The latter is a disease of the brain associated with repeat brain trauma that carries with it symptoms very similar to dementia.

The lawsuit notes that the NFL funded studies on concussion through the formation of an organization known as the NFL Committee on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. It took 10 years for a report to surface, finding in 2004 no evidence of worsening injury or chronic cumulative effects stemming from repeat concussions.

That same study, according to the lawsuit, determined that some players could be safely considered for a return to play the same day following a concussion provided there is an absence of symptoms and assuming clearance from a qualified doctor.

Six years later, in 2010, the NFL conceded that multiple concussions could lead to memory loss, dementia, CTE and related symptoms. Warnings were submitted to teams and individual players.

However, those cautions came too late for Duerson and Shane Dronett, who took his own life in 2009, at the age of 38. His family, according to the lawsuit, began noticing symptoms in 2006.

The action, which did not specify monetary, compensatory or punitive damages, was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court July 19. Co-defendant Riddell Inc. is a manufacturer of football gear. Riddell has been the exclusive supplier of helmets to the NFL since 1989, according to the lawsuit.