Former Chief Neil Smith sues NFL over brain injuries

[proud2BlibKansan]

Former Chiefs defensive end Neil Smith sued the NFL in federal court last week, alleging it has not done enough to prevent the brain injuries from which he now suffers.

Smith, 46, contended in his suit that because of repeated and misdiagnosed concussions he suffers from “permanent and debilitating injuries,” including loss of memory, “cognitive impairment” and early-onset dementia.

“Indeed, Mr. Smith suffered three concussions — all of which were improperly diagnosed and treated — in one game during the 1988 season,” the suit alleged. “Despite exhibiting concussion symptoms, Mr. Smith was regularly returned to play, significantly increasing his chances of longterm brain damage.”

Smith, who lives in Lee’s Summit, played for the Chiefs from 1988 to 1996, then appeared in two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos and played his last season for the San Diego Chargers in 2000. He was selected to six Pro Bowls.

Smith explained in the suit that he was suing the league, and not the teams, because it has “shouldered for itself a common law duty to provide players with rules and information that protect them as much as possible from short-term and long-term health risks.”


Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/12/29/3986469/former-chief-neil-smith-sues-nfl.html#storylink=cpy

[Panasonic]

1. As a Bronco fan, I hope he succeeds.

Smith was with us on the two Super Bowl runs of 98 and 99.

I look foward to hearing more about his lawsuit as it goes through the courts.

[Spider Jerusalem]

2. The problem is really that there's probably no "acceptably safe" level of getting concussions

and that subconcussive trauma can be cumulatively just as bad as concussions--and American football players are more likely to have concussions than boxers; an NFL lineman will have many more concussive and subconcussive hits in his career than a professional boxer (16 games a season plus post-season plus training for five years for an NFL player vs maybe 35-40 12-round fights for a boxer). So you know, at a certain point...you have to accept that brain damage for some number of players may be inevitable.The question for the athletes and fans is "is this an acceptable risk?" I think the answer is probably going to be "yes". Boxing, after all, hasn't gone anywhere (although it's not as popular a sport as it once was, either).