ABIII- Law Suit Filed Over Concussion

Hamilton Tiger-Cats
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Arland Bruce III is the first to file a lawsuit for concussion in Canada.

Lawsuit on Behalf of Star Arland Bruce III Alleges “Fraudulent Concealment? and “Negligent Misrepresentation? By 9 CFL Teams, League Commissioner, CFL Alumni Association and Others

[b]The first lawsuit brought against the CFL member teams and others for concussion injury has been filed in Vancouver, British Columbia in the Supreme Court on behalf of Arland Bruce III, a veteran of 12 seasons as a speedy wide receiver who last played for the Montreal Alouettes in 2013 and also starred on two different Grey Cup winning teams as well as spending the 2003 season with the San Fransisco 49rs.

Bruce, noted in the claim as an “unemployed football player,? is the holder of the record for most receptions in a CFL game (16) and is a three-time CFL All Star.

The claim, so far for unspecified monetary damages, asks for general damages, special damages, general and special damages “in trust? for the care and services provided by his family, and punitive and aggravated damages.

In the claim filed by the Vancouver law firm of Slater Vecchio LLP and lawyer Robyn L. Wishart, it is alleged that Bruce suffered a concussion and was knocked unconscious in a game played in Regina, Saskatchewan on September 29, 2012 between the BC Lions — Bruce’s team at the time — and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Bruce subsequently returned to play for the Lions in a playoff game on November 18, 2012 and it is alleged that he was still suffering from his previous concussion and it is also alleged he suffered additional concussive and sub-concussive hits during the Nov. 18 game.

From a copy of the claim, not proven in a court of law, it alleges in part:

The plaintiff reported concussion signs and symptoms to the BC Lions medical personnel and coaching staff including but not limited to the following:
fogginess;
headaches;
sensitivity to light;
sensitivity to sound;
memory loss;
confusion;
dizziness;
anxiety; and
personality changes.
After the 2012 season, Bruce left the BC Lions and was signed for the 2013 season by the Montreal Alouettes.

Also from the claim: “Further, despite the fact that the plaintiff was displaying the ongoing effects of concussion to medical professionals and coaching staff, he was permitted to return to play in the 2013 season for Montreal.?[/b]

Much more here

[url=http://theconcussionblog.com/2014/07/16/first-law-suit-filed-in-canada-over-concussions/]http://theconcussionblog.com/2014/07/16 ... ncussions/[/url]
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This could get interesting as well as ugly. I can see ALB holding his own presser now. With nobody to suspend him or put a
muzzle on him imagine what he will say.
On the sad side of things this is exactly why the CFLPA wanted an independent doctor at all games to examine players in the event of a smack to the head.
I`m afraid he may have a case here.
TCMIK

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I believe as a employee of any job or company u have a right to refuse a job if ur not healthy.Football is a agressive sport n if he wasn't healthy this isn't like the old days of sport I'm sure he wouldn't been allowed to play and could have retired due to health I'm chalking this up to Bruce once again just speaking to have the spot lite on him as no other team has signed him since his release.

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He made a conscious decision to play. That's not going to be on the league. At best, AB3 will get a settlement.

But perhaps the CFLPA's want of a doctor on-field really does merit another look.

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8) Avon is employed presently by the Saskatchewan Rough Riders as their Running Backs Coach !!
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I would imagine he has a pretty solid case. Over his 16 year career it was probably the last 3-5 years where head injuries were taken serious on all level of sports. Up until that point when you got your bell rung you were told to take a series off and get back out there. Guys likely have a lot more concusions than has ever been noted on their file. Take Dunnigan for example if todays head injury protocol was followed that day against the Lion's he most likely would not have had his career end early. Instead he was right back out there after being knocked silly and the rest is history. That last hit he will likely have side effects for the rest of his life. That is not on the player but the league/teams to have proper rules in place and medical staff to ensure player safety.

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Yeah, this is a weird one. For what I saw in the article, he was on the injury list for a number of weeks after his concussion. He was then cleared by the Lions’ medical staff even though he says he was still having concussion-related symptoms. As soon as he was cleared, his options were to play or to sit out and be suspended without pay. That was the time to make his stand, not now.

And then after being released by the Lions, he signed a contract to play with the Als. At this point, he was allegedly still experiencing concussion symptoms. Did he inform the Als about this during contract negotiations? If not, could the Als now countersue him for nondisclosure of his existing injury? Again, the Als medical staff cleared him to play, and he had the same options as before.

His lawsuit is based on the teams not informing him or misleading him on the potential risks of playing football while recovering from a concussion. Hasn’t the risks been public knowledge for years? Maybe if this had been from an injury in the early 2000s, but this was from late 2012 and 2013. Unless he was living under a rock for the past ten years, he had to have known about the risks.

I don’t see him winning here, especially against the Als. I could see the league fighting this one. The big question will be why he decided to play.

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Well, and that’s it really, isn’t it? Just because the doctor says that you’re physically capable of going, it doesn’t mean that you should. No one knows a person’s body like themselves. If he was still suffering symptoms, he shouldn’t have played… much less signed a new contract with the Larks.

For him to double back now and try to sue the league? This smacks of whinging and someone trying to pump for money because his career is done.

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ABL will have to assume some of the fault himself. If and when it goes to court or a settlement is reached one of the main arguments will be how much is ABL to blame and how much is the CFL to blame. Without going into a lot of detail I recently was involved in a similar type action. It essential came down to how much is each party at fault. IE: if they settled on a $100,000 as the damages. They then play the blame game. So they agree to 50% blame each. ABL would end up with $50,000 then his lawyer takes 30% of the settlement (the $100,000) and so on and so on…
TCMIK

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Good for ALB the fault of this lies squarely on the CFL and League Officiating when Zach Colaros was hit recently by Odell Willis the Ref's didn't even call a penalty for a head shot only demonstrating how incompetent the CFL ref's are, the league got it right later by fining Willis but it's always after the fact. CFL ref's are crap, they can learn to get better and hopefully they will and start flagging hits to the head and protecting the players, Yes football is a contact sport no doubt but extreme or abusive hits directed at the head should not be aloud and what makes it worse is when the Ref does not call the play a penalty and is standing right there, an immediate ejection of the player from the game, a team penalty of 15 yards, a fine to the player and a potential to miss as many games as the player who is injured would change things in a hurry but it all starts with the Ref's and the CFL!!!

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If Matt Dunigan isn't complaining AB3 has no case :cowboy:

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You can't sue Toyota cuz you got into a car accident. Football players know there are risks to playing the game. The fact he got a concussion isn't the issue, its only whether or not the league or team has put him danger without taking foreseeable precautions. That includes protecting a competitive player from his own wrong decision to get back on the field. As the team is rather biased in that regard, and coaches rather competitive too, it wouldn't surprise me if a cheek is turned quite frequently, unfortunately. In fact, I'm pretty shocked that the league didn't push for independent doctors themselves, and somewhat appalled that they insisted it be axed.

With that being said, the fact that its Arland Bruce doesn't give me a lot of confidence that the allegations are true either and much more than a money/attention grab. Guess we'll see how it plays out.

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What’s “league officiating” got to do with the concussion that Arland Bruce suffered in September 2012 and which forms the basis of his lawsuit?
Bruce was contacted by Milt Collins in mid-air causing Bruce to land awkwardly and strike his helmet against the turf at Mosaic Stadium. Bruce lost consciousness and suffered the concussion as a result of his helmet striking the turf.

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I don't really think he has much of a case. TSN just showed a clip of the game where he suffered the concussion in 2012, where he was diagnosed with a concussion and tried to go back in but the medical staff kept him out of the game. A concussion isn't something like a broken bone that is clearly diagnosed. If he lies to the medical staff after sitting out several weeks and says he has no more symptons he'll probably get cleared, and I suspect that's what happened here. No team is going to sign him if he tells them he still has concussion symptoms, so he likely didn't disclose that information to the Al's.

To me this just looks like a convenient thing to go after the league after he's out of the league.