NCAA under fire for not preventing injuries

Pennsylvania college football fans may be interested to here about another NCAA lawsuit being filed by former players who allege that the organization has failed on too many occasions to prevent, diagnose and treat brain injuries even though the means and technology to do so have been at their disposal for quite some time. The three former college players who are filing the class-action lawsuit claim that they are suffering dramatic physical consequences such as severe headaches, dementia and disabilities. The former players claim that the NCAA neglected their obligation to the former players, and they are asking for the NCAA to fund a program that provides medical monitoring to former football players.

One former player, who played for North Carolina, claims that he had to be flown from Pa. to a hospital in Raleigh after playing against Penn State and suffering a concussion during his senior year. He has allegedly suffered from poor memory, tinnitus and sleeping problems from that time he was injured. The two other former players played for Tennessee from 2007-2011, and during that time, both plaintiffs claim to have sustained head trauma from scrimmages, practices and games.

None of the players filing the suit ever played for the NFL. Recently, however, the NFL settled multiple lawsuits brought on by thousands of former players to the tune of about three-quarters of a billion dollars. The players who filed the suits had developed dementia and other football-related health problems. The chief legal officer for the NCAA says he has yet to review and evaluate this current suit.

Failure to diagnose a medical problem is grounds for considering a medical malpractice claim, and even failure to provide follow-up care or refer a patient to a specialist falls under that category. A medical malpractice attorney may be able to prove that the proper tests were not performed or that the proper follow-up was not conducted and possibly attain medical and monetary compensation for their client's injuries.

Source: The Republic, "3 former football players sue NCAA over failure to prevent, diagnose and treat brain injuries", September 04, 2013