November 14, 2016 Concussions / Litigation / NHL

NHL Seeks To Have Wrongful Death Claims Checked

On November 4, 2016, the NHL sought to have Judge Gary Feinerman of the Northern District of Illinois reconsider the court’s previous decision to allow relatives of deceased hockey player Derek Boogaard to file wrongful death claims against the National Hockey League (NHL). The NHL argued the claims fell under the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and should be preempted.

Judge Feinerman had previously agreed with the player’s family, which alleged the NHL promoted violence and implied head trauma was not dangerous and did not …

November 11, 2016 Concussions / NFL

Boston University Brain Bank Confirms Kevin Turner Died of ALS

On November 3, 2016, a Boston University researcher confirmed that former NFL player Kevin Turner died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The statement was made in an effort to clarify conflicting media reports, as diagnoses of both ALS and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, can simultaneously be correct.

First, neuropathologist Ann McKee concluded that she stands by her initial discovery that CTE caused Turner’s fatal neurological disorder, describing her findings as “the best circumstantial evidence we will ever get that this ALS-type of motor …

September 23, 2016 Concussions / NFL

Scrupulous Scrutinization: GOP Seeks Thorough Review Regarding NFL Grant Controversy

On September 15, 2016, a group of Republicans from the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general, imploring that a “thorough and objective review” from the National Institute of Health is needed into whether the integrity of the process for awarding research grants is being upheld.

This letter comes after the NFL was accused of attempting to improperly influence the funding of a scientific study on the degenerative brain condition known as CTE. …

September 5, 2016 Concussions / Litigation

Concussion Lawsuits Reach Youth Football

A lawsuit has been filed in California federal court against Pop Warner and USA Football by two mothers whose sons played football as children and found to have suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after their deaths. The complaint accuses Pop Warner of failing to monitor games, practices, rules, equipment, and medical care to minimize long-term risks associated with brain injuries, failing to accurately diagnose brain injuries, and failing to approve the best equipment available. Meanwhile, it alleges that USA Football promotes safety programs of …

August 4, 2016 Concussions / Litigation / NFL

Ex-NFL Player Requests NFL Pay Attorneys’ Fees

A retired football player is asking the Maryland court to order the National Football League to pay his legal costs after years of battling over disability benefits. In the long sought battle, he currently owes his attorneys $225,312 in attorneys’ fees and $3,098 in filing costs. The player argues his disability benefits case meets the merit test applied by the Fourth Circuit and his fees are reasonable.

Jesse Solomon played has a linebacker in the NFL for nine years. The Vikings drafted him in …

August 3, 2016 Concussions / NHL

NHL Commissioner Bettman Argues There’s No Evidence Supporting Link Between Hockey and Brain Trauma

On July 25, 2016, a letter by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was filed in the multi-district litigation over concussions in hockey dismissing the link between hockey related head injuries and long-term brain conditions. In this letter, he reiterated a similar infamous stance previously made by the NFL that there is no definitive connection between the two and their league has done everything in their power to keep its players safe.

Recently, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), a ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection …

July 29, 2016 Concussions / NFL

Widow Claims Riddell to Blame for “Horrific” Suicide

Chelsea Oliver, the widow of Paul Oliver, gained a big win in the federal court system on July 19, 2016. A federal judge remanded Chelsea Oliver’s case against Riddell Incorporated back to the state courts. Riddell removed the case from state court in May, claiming it fell under the Labor Management Relations Act. The federal judge rejected this argument and sent it back to the Circuit Court of Cook County.

This case stems from the death of Chelsea Oliver’s husband, Paul Oliver, who committed …

July 22, 2016 Concussions / Litigation

Roundhouse Kick: WWE Slammed with Lawsuit over Head Trauma Injuries

Dozens of former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) wrestlers have locked the WWE and its chairman, Vince McMahon, in a legal chokehold, alleging that the WWE failed to protect the wrestlers from the risks of repetitive head injury. On Monday, July 18, 2016, over fifty (50) wrestlers joined in filing a class action lawsuit with the federal court in New Haven, Connecticut. The WWE is the latest professional sports organization to face head trauma litigation, joining the NFL and NHL

The complaint alleges that the …

July 3, 2016 Concussions / NHL

Senator Presses NHL Commissioner for Answers on Concussions

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D – Connecticut) is pressing the National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman to come clean with answers regarding the NHL’s stance on concussions. Specifically, Senator Blumenthal chided Bettman over comments which he believed to be “dismissive” about the link between head trauma and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the brain disease which made headlines during the National Football League concussion litigation in recent years.

While the NFL has admitted to a link between CTE and playing football, Bettman has made no such …