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Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Concussion Lawsuit

From the Daily Bruin: Former UCLA football defensive back Tom Sullivan is suing the NCAA and the Pac-12 over concussions, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Sullivan is looking to include Bruin football players from 1959 to 2010 in his suit, which he filed in the U.S. District Court in Indiana. The former football captain alleged he sustained more than 20 concussions in 35 games with UCLA from 1979 to 1982.
“As a result of these injuries, Sullivan now suffers from memory loss, a decline in cognitive functioning, light sensitivity, anxiety, headaches and other debilitating issues,” the complaint said.
The Pac-12 did not respond to the Los Angeles Times’ request for comment and a UCLA spokesperson declined to comment as well.
Sullivan’s case was just one of 17 lawsuits filed earlier this week.
The NCAA’s chief legal officer, Donald Remy, said in a statement the lawsuits were “mere copycats” and “questionable class actions.”
“This strategy will not work,” the statement said. “The NCAA does not believe that these complaints present legitimate legal arguments and expects that they can be disposed of early by the court.”
Per the Los Angeles Times, Sullivan’s lawsuit said both the NCAA and the Pac-12 “actively concealed” the effects of repeated brain injuries “to protect the very profitable business of ‘amateur’ college football.”
Sullivan is not currently suing his alma mater, but the lawsuit states that UCLA did not provide “appropriate medical treatment” and there was “no adequate concussion management protocols or policies in place” until 2010...

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