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Football child injury led to men’s death, lawsuit

On Behalf of | Oct 26, 2017 | Child Injuries

Football players in New York and across the country often await their favorite football team’s next game. Despite the popularity of the sport, additional research is placing a spotlight on the risk these players may face. This harm can even be seen in those who played as youths. In fact, allegations regarding a child injury suffered by two football players are now at the center of a court case.

The federal case filed in another state involves two mothers who are seeking justice for the death of their sons. Both sons played football for the defendant in the case — Pop Warner, a league of approximately 200,000 youth participants. Unfortunately, one of the mothers lost her son in a motorcycle accident. An autopsy revealed that he was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, believed to have been caused by his experiences playing youth football; his mother claims that his condition caused him to behave erratically and dangerously, resulting in the motorcycle accident that took his life.

The other mother involved in this case lost her son to suicide at the age of 25. He was also diagnosed with CTE following his death. Pop Warner recently asked a judge to dismiss the case, but the judge, instead, ruled in favor of the mothers, allowing the case to proceed. They are seeking class action status. Pop Warner has previously paid less than $2 million in another CTE case.

Additional information regarding the potential harm of repeated hits experienced by football players reportedly has decreased the number of players in the sport. However, this current decrease does little to help those already experiencing harm as a result of repeated hits. In order to cope with the effects of CTE, people in New York — including surviving family members when a child injury resulted in death — also have the option of filing a lawsuit against an organization that they believe did not implement sufficient measures to protect players from harm.

Source: New York Post, “Judge OKs trial for brain-injury suit against Pop Warner“, Josh Kosman, Oct. 23, 2017