Joseph Ziemianski, chair of the Global Insurance Department, and Andrea Cortland, along with other industry professionals, co-wrote this article in The Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel Quarterly, Vol. 64, No 4, Summer 2015.
Hits to the head have always been a consequence of professional and collegiate athletics, and specifically in hockey and American football. Over the past few years, however, these types of impacts – and the related concussive and sub-concussive injuries they cause – have become the source of significant litigation. This article first discusses the status and key legal issues of the concussion-related injury litigation by current and former professional, collegiate and even high school athletes. This paper then addresses the status and key legal issues of the related insurance coverage litigation. This article further explains the medical science at the heart of the concussion-related injury litigation, and addresses the plaintiffs’ claims for medical monitoring, as well as the obstacles to class certification of the plaintiffs’ claims. Finally, this article discusses various trial considerations based on lessons from past head injury litigation, and provides a glimpse into the future of concussion-related injury helmet litigation.
To read the complete article in The Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel Quarterly, please click here.
The Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC), composed of recognized leaders in the legal community who have achieved professional distinction, is dedicated to promoting knowledge, fellowship, and professionalism of its members as they pursue the course of a balanced justice system and represent those in need of a defense in civil lawsuits. To learn more about the FDCC, please click here.