The family of former Chargers player Lewis Bush has joined the growing list of families suing the National Football League for failing to disclose the risks of the game.
Bush, who played on the famed, at least in San Diego, 1994 Super Bowl team died on December 8, 2011 less than a week after his 42nd birthday.
In the lawsuit, Bush's ex-wife and children claim repeated concussions sustained during his nine years as a defensive linebacker had a lasting impact on Bush after leaving the NFL.
Bush is said to have suffered “repeated subconcussions and concussions” and “suffered significant long term brain damage,” and later in life suffered “from an acute flare-up of his depression” before succumbing to “a fatal episode of stress induced cardiomyopathy, also known as the ‘broken heart disease,’” according to the lawsuit filed in federal court on July 18.
The family claims that the NFL is guilty of misleading players and their families and spreading “misinformation concerning the cause and effect relationship between [Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries] in NFL football and latent neurodegenerative disorders and diseases,” and “fraudulently concealed ... the risks of head injuries ... including the risks associated with returning to physical activity too soon after sustaining a sub-concussive or concussive injury.”
More and more families of former NFL players as well as retired players are turning to lawsuits as a way to hold the league accountable for the unspoken dangers of the game.
According to a July 9 article from news agency Reuters, once such case involves more than 4,000 players or families of players who have sued the league for playing down the dangers of the game and the dangers that repeated blows to the head might have later in life. In that case a judge in Philadelphia ordered the plaintiffs and NFL to settle the dispute by way of arbitration and not by a jury. A decision, which could open the gates for more player-friendly settlements.
The family of former Chargers player Lewis Bush has joined the growing list of families suing the National Football League for failing to disclose the risks of the game.
Bush, who played on the famed, at least in San Diego, 1994 Super Bowl team died on December 8, 2011 less than a week after his 42nd birthday.
In the lawsuit, Bush's ex-wife and children claim repeated concussions sustained during his nine years as a defensive linebacker had a lasting impact on Bush after leaving the NFL.
Bush is said to have suffered “repeated subconcussions and concussions” and “suffered significant long term brain damage,” and later in life suffered “from an acute flare-up of his depression” before succumbing to “a fatal episode of stress induced cardiomyopathy, also known as the ‘broken heart disease,’” according to the lawsuit filed in federal court on July 18.
The family claims that the NFL is guilty of misleading players and their families and spreading “misinformation concerning the cause and effect relationship between [Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries] in NFL football and latent neurodegenerative disorders and diseases,” and “fraudulently concealed ... the risks of head injuries ... including the risks associated with returning to physical activity too soon after sustaining a sub-concussive or concussive injury.”
More and more families of former NFL players as well as retired players are turning to lawsuits as a way to hold the league accountable for the unspoken dangers of the game.
According to a July 9 article from news agency Reuters, once such case involves more than 4,000 players or families of players who have sued the league for playing down the dangers of the game and the dangers that repeated blows to the head might have later in life. In that case a judge in Philadelphia ordered the plaintiffs and NFL to settle the dispute by way of arbitration and not by a jury. A decision, which could open the gates for more player-friendly settlements.