Sports Concussion Litigation: Bringing or Defending Claims Against Professional, Collegiate or Youth Leagues

Description

Numerous lawsuits have been filed in the past few years against the National Football League (NFL), National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), National Hockey League (NHL), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer), high school teams, and youth sports organizations alleging negligence in handling head trauma injuries of their players.

This wave of concussion lawsuits comes on the heels of a $1 billion NFL settlement to compensate about 20,000 retired players diagnosed with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other neurocognitive conditions. Counsel in the suit sought over $100 million in fees. Dozens of states have strengthened laws establishing safety protocols for youth sports leagues in response.

The lawsuits allege that coaches and trainers are not trained to spot symptoms of concussions, allow players to continue to play despite head injuries, and fail to warn players of risks involved with head injuries, possibly resulting in chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

The science around sports-related concussions remains under dispute. With the medical community unable to give clear answers, how can counsel respond to Daubert challenges in cases that allege more than failure-to-warn and failure-to-diagnose causes of action?

Listen as our panel of attorneys addresses the legal and medical issues that arise in sports concussion litigation, the strategies litigators are using when bringing or defending claims, damages methodology, and various settlement structures.