Hopefully blockbuster concussion lawsuit against the NFL

[QuantumMechanic]

"A new lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania state court by the estate of Adrian Robinson Jr.—a former NFL player who committed suicide in 2015 and was subsequently found to have the debilitating brain disease CTE—paints the most compelling picture yet of decades of alleged deception by the NFL and helmet maker Riddell in their touts of football’s purported safety."

New Lawsuit Says NFL Knew Of Brain Disease CTE For Decades

May it burn everything to the ground and take all the owners with it.

 

[bbobbo]

what will everyone do with no more NFL to watch?

 

[BelichickFan]

Be careful what you wish for. We all hate the owners and the league but we still love the game that the players choose to play.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I dunna know if this case has legs. I'm not a lawyer.

Seems like a tough climb to prove the NFL knew about in CTE in 1966 and to cite Korean War vets having hard shell helmets as an adjacent circumstance causing it.

Part of me wants them to burn the NFL world down and the other part of me wants the NFL to pay off the Robinson family millions and just deal with paying players for their cognitive disabilities as much as they want and need.

God knows they have the money to do it.

 

[MassPats38]

I would say nice try on theater, but conspiracy theory it is without inside evidence.

Much like the theme of The Insider, attorneys citing expert reports as unquestioned legal authority must prepare for a counter-battery of other experts who disagreed. If you want to argue these organizations were structured in acknowledgment of the validity of a particular study, and thereby hid the truth from the victims, then you had better have a real insider or admissions from the organization you are suing or down goes the case. Finding out the NFL actually hid unquestioned findings on concussions and CTE is a far cry from relying on stupid studies that showed low risk. Not easy claims to prove for liability purposes.

If you are curious, the full complaint is here.

 

[BTTA]

"May it burn everything to the ground and take all the owners with it.

Be careful what you wish for. We all hate the owners and the league but we still love the game.

I can argue this both ways, on any given day. On the one hand, the NFL and its ownership is probably net net not good for society. On the other, I'm pretty addicted.

 

[DarrylS]

"Knowing" they knew it and proving that they "knew" it are two completely different things.. it seems that the advances regarding CTE has outpaced the technology that can be used to prevent it, so not sure what they really "knew" in the 60's...

Most of us grew up in a era where we got our "bells rung" and were told to "walk it off", the response now is much different, particularly in this litigious society...

 

[Thelonious]

We are now a nation of sissies, no longer up to the demands of this game. R.I.P., Football.

 

[patman52]

We are now a nation of sissies, no longer up to the demands of this game. R.I.P., Football.

Joke?

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

They filed in Philly because it is considered to be a plaintiffs bar, very friendly to those filing the lawsuit versus the suburbs or other venues which are more hostile and less likely to find for the plaintiff. Obviously the Eagles play in Philly but the deceased was from Harrisburg ( 120 miles away- also a Plaintiffs bar ) and it's likely the NFL tries to get a change of venue......
If it ever gets to discovery or the deposition stage, it could get interesting....

 

[Kontradiction]

The NFL will probably outspend it and it will get buried in the news cycle as a result, but it's definitely a good thing. The lawsuits are beginning to pile up and they're chipping away at the NFL both financially and from a consumer confidence standpoint.

 

[DaBruinz]

"A new lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania state court by the estate of Adrian Robinson Jr.—a former NFL player who committed suicide in 2015 and was subsequently found to have the debilitating brain disease CTE—paints the most compelling picture yet of decades of alleged deception by the NFL and helmet maker Riddell in their touts of football’s purported safety."

New Lawsuit Says NFL Knew Of Brain Disease CTE For Decades

May it burn everything to the ground and take all the owners with it.

It's going to be extremely tough to prove that the owners knew that CTE could occur in football players as far back as the 60's. Especially since most damning evidence has only surfaced in the last 15 years or so.

Furthermore, it's going to be hard to hold the owners responsible since they can easily point to the fact that most people making the choice to play football have suffered concussions going as far back as being teenagers.. Which is well before they joined the NFL. I'm curious what "NFL-supported" league Robinson played in at age 7.

Also, from what I have seen, the label on Football helmets does NOT promise safety.
Warning Labels on Helmets Combat Injury and Liability

"No helmet system can protect you from serious brain and/or neck injuries including paralysis or death. To avoid these risks, do not engage in the sport of football."

Not sure if/when they changed them to say this, but I guarantee you that it puts the liability back on the person using the equipment.

Further, why does it not mention the CFL as a plaintiff since Robinson was in the CFL when he committed suicide? And why is SCHUTT not listed since they produce helmets?

Riddell and Schutt, on the other hand, could be on the hook for lawsuits from everyone under the sun who has every used their helmets. The Safety Board "NOCSAE" who also approves the helmets will also be under severe scrutiny. What I find ironic is that they chastise the NOCSAE for being "self-regulating". All boards like that are "self-regulating". ISO is self-regulating. SAAMI is Self-regulating. Even OSHA is self-regulating to an extent..

And, in all honesty, people need to remember that there aren't just 31 owners.. There are 31 owners and a team with tens of thousands of owners who will each become responsible for a part of the judgement since they have ownership of the team..

So, saying it should all burn down speaks volumes about you as a person..

Here is the link to the actual filing:
http://www.bplegal.com/webfiles/pdf/Wallach/20170515_complaint_as_filed.pdf

I'm going to be honest. I feel that the lawyer is making a mistake. This should be two separate lawsuits. One against the NFL and one against Riddell. The one against Riddell is a slam dunk. Particularly over the "Revolution" helmet and it's false propaganda. Especially since Riddell lost a lawsuit as recently as 2013.. (Riddell lost on appeal as well).

 

[QuantumMechanic]

The "owners" of the Packers lose nothing. That's the whole point of the corporate form. Shareholders have zero liability for corporate misdeeds. So they would pay nothing even if the Packers were hit with a huge judgement. Further, Packer stock is basically monopoly money. "Shareholders" have no equity interest and are not allowed to sell the stock for anything, other than selling it back to the team for a small fraction of what they paid for it. So they lost virtually 100% of their "investment" the moment they made it.

 

[fnordcircle]

I've been told by a close friend who claimed to have inside information that the helmets used by the NFL are like the 4th or 6th best option for player safety. This is 3rd hand information so take it as you will but I'd love to know if the NFL actually went with the more economically viable option over the one that best protected players.

And if they did I hope they ****ing burn for it.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Agree, IF so. Find it difficult to believe that better helmet technology has not been available.

 

[Jlaff]

I haven't read the pleadings, but there is a distinction to be drawn between "knew" and "ought to have known" as well. The second standard deals with negligence, but again, not sure if that's also being alleged.

 

[Ring 6]

"A new lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania state court by the estate of Adrian Robinson Jr.—a former NFL player who committed suicide in 2015 and was subsequently found to have the debilitating brain disease CTE—paints the most compelling picture yet of decades of alleged deception by the NFL and helmet maker Riddell in their touts of football’s purported safety."

New Lawsuit Says NFL Knew Of Brain Disease CTE For Decades

May it burn everything to the ground and take all the owners with it.

Seriously? You want the end of the NFL?

 

[jmt57]

Seriously? You want the end of the NFL?

Some people would not be opposed to the NFL burning to the ground in a Carrie-like aftermath soon after Belichick and Brady retired, just after the Pats won their tenth Superbowl, with impending civil lawsuits leaving Roger Goodell, Troy Vincent, Jeff Pash and a few others penniless and living in cardboard boxes under a leaky bridge.

 

[Jackson 2]

Deflategate poisoned me so much on this NFL led by this commissioner and featuring these ***hole owners. I live for Sundays in the fall and winter and enjoy the games beyond description. But, these greedy, narcissistic, megalomaniac SOBs deserve to go down, and go down hard. They don't give 2 ****s about the players, the coaches and, in particular, the fans.There are times I honestly believe it would be worth it. F### them.

 

[Galeb]

Some people would not be opposed to the NFL burning to the ground in a Carrie-like aftermath soon after Belichick and Brady retired, just after the Pats won their tenth Superbowl, with impending civil lawsuits leaving Roger Goodell, Troy Vincent, Jeff Pash and a few others penniless and living in cardboard boxes under a leaky bridge.

In jail, not cardboard boxes.