kcsaints

Posted by Mike Florio on January 23, 2013, 12:53 PM EST
Seaus-death-came-with-zero-warning-3L1DP1AC-x-large Getty Images

On the heels of the disclosure that linebacker Junior Seau suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephelopathy when he committed suicide in May 2012, Seau’s estate is now suing the NFL for wrongful death.

The suit was filed Wednesday in California Superior Court.

The NFL likely will move swiftly to shift the case to federal court and then to consolidate it with the thousands of claims pending in federal court in Philadelphia. The league’s threshold argument will be, as it has been in every concussion case, that any remedies for failure to warn players about the risks of concussions or to protect them from concussions must be pursued under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Seau’s claim also could have a problem under the statute of limitations. While scientific examination of his brain tissue only recently revealed the existence of CTE, the NFL likely will argue that Seau knew or should have known that he had legal rights that were potentially violated by the NFL more than two years before the date of the filing of the lawsuit.

While the concussion lawsuits draw headlines and drive web traffic, it’s important to remember that these cases are not slam dunks. Even if a jury ever is in position to assess whether the league failed to do enough to warn or protect players from concussions, there will be jurors who are inclined to believe that the players would have done nothing differently even if they had been warned.

Seau estate sues NFL | ProFootballTalk

TheOak

There will also be jurys that believe players understand the inherent risks ,much like boxers.

I wonder if a gladiators family thought about suing Cesar after his "wrongful death".


The much grayer issue with Seau is that it was a suicide.... Depression very could be explained by a competent lawyer for a numbered reasons not connected to the NFL..

Junior Seau Family -- We're NOT Blaming NFL for Junior's Death | TMZ.com

QBREES9

We all know the risk. Very sorry for the Seau loss.