April 2, 2018 Concussions / Litigation / NFL

Former Chicago Bear Sues NFL for Damages from Concussions

On March 27, 2018, former Chicago Bear Craig Steltz filed a lawsuit against the NFL in Louisiana federal court. In the lawsuit, Steltz requested financial compensation for the chronic injuries, expenses, and intangible losses suffered as a result of the NFL’s “intentional tortious misconduct, including fraud, intentional misrepresentation, and negligence.” Steltz claimed that he suffers from the pathological and debilitating effects of mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI) caused by the repeated concussive and sub-concussive impacts that he experienced while playing in the NFL. Steltz, a …

July 26, 2016 NFL

Goodell Prompts NFL Chief Medical Advisor’s Resignation

Embattled National Football League chief medical advisor Elliot Pellman has retired from his position in a decision prompted by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. According to sources, Goodell wrote the decision was made in order to “demonstrate strong leadership” and because “players and fans need to trust in the league.”

Pellman, a rheumatologist, has been in the middle of the NFL’s concussion problem over the last few years, and helped create the league’s concussion policies as chair of the NFL’s Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee …

March 29, 2016 Concussions / NFL

The Fallout: A Day After the Release of New York Times Investigation Findings, NFL Hit with New Lawsuit

It certainly was not the last we heard of it, and it did not take long for the other shoe to drop. Just one day following the release of a New York Times article claiming extensive flaws in the National Football League’s concussion research as well as ties with the tobacco industry, the NFL was hit with yet another negligence putative class action lawsuit in Florida federal court. This lawsuit, brought on behalf of a proposed class of NFL athletes “preliminary diagnosed with a …

March 25, 2016 Concussions / NFL

The Whole Picture: New York Times Investigation Calls into Question the NFL’s Concussion Research

“It was understood that any player with a recognized symptom of head injury, no matter how minor, should be included in the study.” — Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee

On Thursday, March 24, 2016, the New York Times published its conclusions following an investigation into research conducted by the National Football League from 1996 to 2001 into the dangers of head injuries to athletes. The Times’ investigation uncovered potentially major flaws and omissions in the research, as well as purported similarities between the NFL’s …