The daughter of former San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Forrest Blue has sued the National Football League and others, alleging in the Circuit Court of Cook County (Ill.) that Blue suffered “numerous concussive brain traumas” during his playing career, which led to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and his premature death in 2011.
Specifically, Brittney L. Blue alleges that the NFL “failed to prevent, diagnose, and/or properly treat” the brain traumas “throughout his career” as well as that it “never warned (him) that playing through concussions could, and would, cause permanent brain damage.”
She also claimed that the NFL “knew, or should have known, that the helmets used by NFL players do not adequately protect players from concussions,” or “the harmful effects of poorly managed concussions.”
In addition, “the NFL (on numerous occasions), by failing to enact sufficient return-to-play policies, allowed and encouraged Forrest Blue, after suffering concussions, to return to play in the same game and/or practice.”
The plaintiff further maintained that the league had “a duty to (Blue and the rest of the players) to keep them reasonably safe during their NFL careers and to provide Forrest Blue with the most up-to-date medical information on all issues, including brain trauma. … Creating ambiguity and/or making false statements regarding this critical medical information was unlawful, unethical and blatantly misleading.”
Brittney Blue went on to detail the ways in which this breach occurred in the complaint, which is available here:
The attorneys representing Blue, Thomas A. Demetrio and William T. Gibbs of Corboy & Demetrio PC, were careful to note in the 70-page complaint that Brittney Blue “and the next-of-kin of Forrest Blue are not signatories to any NFL/NFLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement, and their claims are not preempted by Federal Labor Law.”
The plaintiff also went after helmet maker Riddell Inc. in the lawsuit, alleging “strict liability for failing to warn that its helmet design would not prevent concussion-caused CTE and death.”
Prior to his death, which occurred at an assisted living facility in California, Brittney Blue claimed that her father had become moody, depressed and distant from his family, and that he had complained of worsening short-term memory, vision trouble, hallucinations and a growing problem with impulse control.
Forrest Blue, who player for the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts during his 11-year career, had mandated that upon his death his brain be donated for further study. That investigation, performed by Dr. Ann McKee, the neuropathologist at the Boston University School of Medicine, revealed Lewy body disease, an aggressive form of dementia, and CTE. It was Stage III-IV of four stages, marked by memory loss, depression, explosivity and difficulty concentrating.
The NFL released a statement in response to the suit about how it has made safety a priority and continues to do so.
“Any allegation that the NFL intentionally sought to mislead players has no merit,” it said. “It stands in contrast to the league’s actions to better protect players and advance the science and medical understanding of the management and treatment of concussions.”
