Mr. Laz
01-29-2014, 11:07 AM
Jahvid Best suing NFL over concussions
Jan
29
1/29/2014 10:34:51 AM
| More
Jahvid Best tried to return to football even after a team of doctors wouldn’t clear him to play, and now the former Detroit Lions running back is suing the NFL for the brain injuries that ended his career, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Best, who turns 25 on Thursday, filed suit against the league and helmet maker Riddell in Wayne County Circuit Court on Tuesday.
The 90-page filing alleges that the NFL knew about the risks of concussions but didn’t do enough to protect players, and seeks unspecified “economic and noneconomic damages” of more than $25,000.
Best also has a worker’s compensation claim pending against the Lions.
“Unfortunately, with these types of injuries, as has been documented, the long-term effects of the injuries to the brain may not manifest themselves for a number of years,” said Bret Schnitzer, Best’s attorney. “Jahvid obviously had some manifestation of concussion syndrome, which is well documented in the media. But in terms of the full extent of the injury to the brain, as we can see from other players and from the science, that can’t always be determined in a 25-year-old.
“It’s just like mesothelioma or asbestos type of case, if I could analogize it to that, that it sometimes takes decades to see the full ramifications of the injury.”
Jan
29
1/29/2014 10:34:51 AM
| More
Jahvid Best tried to return to football even after a team of doctors wouldn’t clear him to play, and now the former Detroit Lions running back is suing the NFL for the brain injuries that ended his career, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Best, who turns 25 on Thursday, filed suit against the league and helmet maker Riddell in Wayne County Circuit Court on Tuesday.
The 90-page filing alleges that the NFL knew about the risks of concussions but didn’t do enough to protect players, and seeks unspecified “economic and noneconomic damages” of more than $25,000.
Best also has a worker’s compensation claim pending against the Lions.
“Unfortunately, with these types of injuries, as has been documented, the long-term effects of the injuries to the brain may not manifest themselves for a number of years,” said Bret Schnitzer, Best’s attorney. “Jahvid obviously had some manifestation of concussion syndrome, which is well documented in the media. But in terms of the full extent of the injury to the brain, as we can see from other players and from the science, that can’t always be determined in a 25-year-old.
“It’s just like mesothelioma or asbestos type of case, if I could analogize it to that, that it sometimes takes decades to see the full ramifications of the injury.”