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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

College Players Sue NCAA for Head Trauma

(CN) - Former college football players sued the NCAA in two federal class actions, demanding court-supervised medical monitoring for risks of brain injuries from their playing days, and damages for gross negligence.

Lead plaintiff Jerry Caldwell sued the NCAA in Atlanta; lead plaintiff Paul Morgan and sued in Minneapolis.

Caldwell was a defensive back for the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1995 to 1998. He claims he suffered repeated traumatic head impacts and concussions during his college days.

For example, in a scrimmage during practice, he collided with a teammate, suffered a concussion, and lost consciousness and the 1997 season he collided with another player in a game versus the University of Maryland and lost consciousness, suffered a concussion, and experienced lightheadedness and nausea which he reported to the team trainer," Caldwell says in the 35-page lawsuit.

It continues: "Caldwell believes that he suffered other similar head impacts in his collegiate career, but cannot recall them with specificity. After graduation, Caldwell has experienced frequent severe headaches. Caldwell is at increased risk of latent brain injuries caused by repeated head impacts in his collegiate football career and therefore is in need of medical monitoring."

Caldwell seeks medical monitoring for the class, and damages for gross negligence and breach of contract. He is represented by Roger Orlando and Mark Zamora, of Decatur, Ga.

In the Minneapolis lawsuit, Morgan says he was a running back and special teams player for Vanderbilt from 1994 to 1997. He makes similar claims about repeated head trauma and concussions.

"In 2002, a doctor informed Mr. Morgan that he had suffered untreated degenerative disk disease and a cervical fracture several years previously," the complaint states. "Mr. Morgan has experienced headaches, mood swings, loss of memory, fatigue, sleep problems, irritability, and numbness and tingling sensations. As a result of the head injuries he sustained during his football career, Mr. Morgan is in need of medical monitoring. He has also incurred out-of-pocket costs and continues to pay for his ongoing medical treatment related to the repeated traumatic head impacts."

He is represented by James Selmer.

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