TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Former University of Kansas fullback Christopher Powell alleges in a lawsuit that the NCAA failed to adequately protect athletes from head trauma.
The Topeka Capital-Journal (http://bit.ly/18vrHlS) reports that the suit was filed this week in the in the U.S. District Court for Western Missouri. The class action suit seeks an undetermined amount in damages for Powell and other athletes who suffered head trauma in college.
Powell, of Kansas City, Mo., said in his filing that he sustained at least four concussions while playing for Kansas from 1990 to 1994. Powell says he continues to suffer neurologic and cognitive deficits that require medical monitoring and out-of-pocket expenses.
Kansas is not a named defendant in Powell’s suit. The NCAA says it hasn’t been served with the complaint yet.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
Former University of Kansas fullback Christopher Powell alleges in a lawsuit that the NCAA failed to adequately protect athletes from head trauma.
The class-action lawsuit, filed this week in the in the U.S. District Court for Western Missouri, seeks an undetermined amount in damages for Powell and other athletes who suffered head trauma in college, The Topeka Capital-Journal (http://bit.ly/18vrHlS) reported.
Powell, of Kansas City, Mo., said in his filing he had at least four concussions while playing for Kansas from 1990 to 1994. He alleges that after one concussion sustained during a practice, he lost memory for about 24 hours.
Powell said he continues to suffer neurologic and cognitive deficits that require medical monitoring and out-of-pocket expenses. He alleges that said the NCAA was negligent in its “failure to take effective action to protect players and/or inform players of the true risks associated with concussions, brain injury and brain trauma.”
The University of Kansas is not a named defendant in Powell’s suit.
The NCAA didn’t immediately respond to a written request from The Associated Press seeking comment.
As more attention and warnings about concussions in sports grow, many leagues, including NFL the NHL, have implemented stricter rules on hits to the head and player safety. The NCAA has taken recent steps to boost awareness of how to treat possible head injuries, from legislation and outreach efforts to new rules on the playing field.
Similar lawsuits to Powell’s have been filed against the NCAA recently, including one in U.S. District Court of Chicago that attorneys want to expand nationwide to encompass thousands of plaintiffs.
Powell’s suit, however, faults the NCAA for failing to implement system-wide “return to play” guidelines for post-concussion treatment, and for failing to deal with the coaching of tackling techniques that lead to head injuries. It also faults the NCAA for profiting monetarily while providing no post-collegiate financial aid or medical treatment to former players who deal with the lifelong consequences of head trauma.
“They have failed to establish known protocols to prevent, mitigate, monitor, diagnose and treat brain injuries,” Powell charged in court documents. “As knowledge of the adverse consequences of head impacts in football has grown, the NCAA has never gone back to college football players to offer education or needed medical monitoring.”
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Information from: The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal, http://www.cjonline.com
