Three more concussion lawsuits filed this week

Posted by Mike Florio on May 19, 2012, 9:39 PM EDT
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The numbers keep growing and growing, as more and more former players are adding their names to concussion lawsuits against the NFL.

According to NFLConcussionLitigation.com, three more actions were filed this week.

One action, filed in Georgia, has only four plaintiffs:  Robert Edwards, Kenneth Callicutt, Byron Ingram, and Todd Kelly.  Edwards (pictured), who tore up his knee playing beach football in conjunction with the 1998 Pro Bowl, played only one full season in the NFL, with the Patriots.  He returned to the NFL in 2002, rushing 20 times in 12 games with the Dolphins.

Ten more players filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, a day after Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma sued Commissioner Roger Goodell in that same court.

Also on Friday, a dozen players filed suit in Los Angeles, including another former Patriots running back, Sam “Bam” Cunningham, along with former Redskins receiver Alvin Garrett.

The total number of lawsuits has now reached 79, with more than 2,200 former players suing the league.

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48 responses to “Three more concussion lawsuits filed this week”

  1. I have a Sam “Bam” Cunningham throwback jersey. I got it on clearance for like $15. Also, he is Randall Cunningham’s brother.

    ….

    What?

    Well you guys say something interesting about this topic then.

  5. This is getting ridiculous, they just want money because they are on child support and can’t afford it

  8. I can’t help but feel these guys are just getting persuaded for possible monetary gain regardless of their health. Hopefully at the end of this it only develops into better retirement benefits for those who played 4 plus years

  9. 95% Money Grab, 2% “Dude I shouldn’t have rammed my head into everything I saw”, 3% Dah! I was brain dead before football.

  11. Can I join the lawsuit? Every time I read about concusssion lawsuits, I ram my head into a wall. I have had 5,000 concussions this month, 8,000 last month and will probably have a few thousand next month. Enough about concussion lawsuits. There must be something else to write about. Between Favre, bountygate and this concussion “news”, the sports media is completely saturated.

  20. Working in the sports media business garners calls from NFL Alumni all the time whereby they are looking for the media to tell their story.

    Every hit in football is violent. What did you think was going to happen after repeated blows to the pumpkin?
    How many other violent sports are suing their league or organization because they got hurt while getting paid to try and punish the opponent?

  21. Let me get this straight, Edwards basically plays 2 years in the NFL but claims he suffered concussions? He played longer in the CFL, is he going to sue them too? Can he prove he suffered concussions in the NFL and nowhere else?

  22. Hate to say it, because he was a real fan favorite, but come on; a guy whose nickname was Sam “Bam” Cunningham, suing for concussions?

    Judge: Will the Plaintiff state his name for the record

    Cunningham: Sam “Bam” Cunningham

    Judge: Case dismissed!

  23. If a presiding judge were to spend the day reading PFT posts, he would understand that football and mental damage sort of go hand in hand, and that the relationship between the two has a lot more to do with cultural shortcomings than with physical trauma to the brain.

  24. After a while, as this list grows, it will hold the power of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. The longer the list grows (and punters, kickers, and guys who played 2 seasons in the NFL), the less credibility if will have. Don’t get me wrong, but this law suit is comparable to people for suing Copper Tone for getting a sunburn that later turned to skin cancer……after laying on beaches for 30 years.

  28. My eyes hurt from staring at the computer at my job. I have random headaches and my hand gets stiff from typing. Oh, and I’m typing on here now and these pains are coming back. I’d like to sue my job and can I sue PFT for posting on their blog? My hands and eyes are killing me. I have to stop typing because I’m getting a migraine??

  29. And the free money club has added another member. I’m sorry but this has gotten rediculous.

  30. Take the nfl for all they’re worth playas!! Goodell has brought this whole lawsuit on himself by trying to turn the best sport in the world into a game of pu$$ies. Players have every right to sue purely based on the fact that league safety policies have changed so much.

  31. This is getting out right ridiculous , guess I should sue my job because I have bad feet due to standing 8 to 12 hours a day, what about going all the way back to high school and colleges also in almost all of these cases I’m willing to bet that the concussions didn’t just start in the nfl they were probably having multiple concussions in high school and college also that’s the price you have to pay for playing the tough guy role, even though your vision is blurred and the headache is unbearable you lie to the trainers and coaches just to get back on the field. When you put on shoulder pads you say there is a possibility of you getting a shoulder injury so let me put pads on, when you wear a helmet you are saying my head is in serious trouble if I don’t wear this so let me put this helmet on, and further more what if a player sues another player for giving them a concussion then what would happen, take responsibility for your on actions you knew the dangers when you started playing football so accept the burden.

  32. I wonder when Boxing (and specifically boxers who’ve had only 2 fights) are going to sue someone. The ‘someone’ in boxing is the question. Perhaps ‘the commission’. I don’t know. My point is – if long term problems occur from concussions and this is leading to these lawsuits in the NFL world, I think lawsuits are and have been as prevalent in other contact sports too. This is going to transcend into boxing, hockey, MMA, baseball?, and maybe into MLsoccer. Some research into this in other sports would be helpful to understand and interesting to read. History always helps.

  33. My concern is if these law suits are not thrown out and former players get actual compensatory settlements, could that put the NFL at risk of losing so much money it might have to disband or completely change. We are all big fans of the NFL and we do want it to succeed, but at what cost to the players and the fans.

  34. These guys are the reason the NFL is evolving into a touch football league.

  35. Going to be VERY interesting when the NFL not only asks each players to prove when they were concussed…BUT also points out they were concussed from using poor techniques,,,not taught by their franchises.

    Then, if all else fails..there is ‘forced’ bankruptcy to negate payouts..with the end result of a new beginning & salaries dropping 50%…or more.

    Ex players won’t win this,,unless NFL has ironclad insurance vs suit,,they won’t get a dime.

    Next up, all coal miners and their ancesters will file suit for black lung over the next the last century…and attornies will sue judges for their ulcers…and prostitutes will sue brothels for damages to their bodies.

  36. Alvin Garrett? That was the guy Howard Cossell caught all the flak for saying “look at that little monkey run” on MNF. He did not think it was racist either. So you Hyper Sensitive people, dont wet yourselfs.

    .

  37. This is what happens when one person sues someone and/or an organization. More people start coming out of nowhere trying to get money. Only thing is, regarding the NFL there is no “settlement” like the ones that happen when a celebrity or public figure is sued.

    For these guys if this fails then maybe they should look into other cases. Maybe someone here wants to take a stab at John Travolta.

  38. Edwards must have hit his head on a beach chair after he blew his knee out playing BEACH FOOTBALL!….. This concussion lawsuit stuff is getting ridiculous

  39. So what’s next? The NCAA? High School? Rec league? Mom and Dad for allowing you to play?

  41. I am sick of this non sense. I hope everyone of these cases gets thrown out of court in 5 seconds. You played football guys. You knew the consequences. If a coal miner sued his company if he got lung cancer, people would laugh at him. It’s the same thing. People and their attempts at cash grabs make me sick.

  42. like a weatherman in a Texas summer…”80 degrees overnight, in the 100’s all day…Thank you for watching and I’ll see you in November when I finally have something new to say”…

  43. Byron Ingram played a whopping 13 games, it’s a disgrace that someone like him is involved in this lawsuit.

    You know what says something: Al Toon probably had as many concussions as this guy played games…and Al isn’t suing anyone. He quit the game because of concussions and moved on.

    This lawsuit just reeks of guys that are bitter because they never got the big payday, either because they played in the early days or they weren’t that good.

    And really if this goes anywhere, the NCAA will be next. There’s a whole other group of people who are bitter that they never “got paid”.

  44. I am suing the states of Georgia, Alabama, Ohio, Virginia, California, and Guam as well as the U.S. Department of Education for all the stress that I incurred going to U.S. Public Schools funded by the states listed above and the Federal Govt.

    As a kindergartener, I was not informed of the stress (emotional, psychological, and physical) that i would incur during 12 years in the U.S. educational system.
    Moreover, I did not willingly participate in said education, instead I was compelled by U.S. law to attend.

    Therefore, I am filing suit for 100 Trillion dollars to cover my medical/psychological bills, and damages.

    Unlike pro football players, who sign that contract and cash their signing bonuses checks willingly, not only do they already know the consequences , but they make sure to get as much as they can due to potential injury.

    This is why we need legal reform in the U.S.

  45. I am sick of the players that say “I don’t care about the money, I play for the love of the game”

    Then right after they retire, “Hey where do I sign for that lawsuit”?

    IMO if the plaintiffs lose the lawsuit (and they should), they should be forced to pay all of the NFL’s legal costs.

    If we go to a loser pays system, we will have much less litigation. And the ACLU must be limited to 1 lawsuit per year and they cannot sue a town or village with small populations just so they can push their liberal agenda

  46. All ABOARD! The Gravy Train Express is now departing for Free Money Station. ALL ABOARD!

  47. In the words of the great Vince Lombardi, “WHAT THE HELL’S GOING ON HERE.” If I ever hear anything about the Gramatica brothers filing lawsuits because their feet hurt from kicking the football, I’m gonna exchange my 55″ television and surround sound and take up golf.

  48. I suspect that most of these are going to be thrown out. Unless the CBA provides for a longer statute of limitations these claims are too late.

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