Professional Wrestlers File Brain Injury Suit Against WWE
Concussions and brain injuries among athletes continue to receive the greater medical and media attention they deserve, particularly among hockey and football players. Recently, however, more than fifty former professional wrestlers of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) have filed a class-action brain injury lawsuit against the organization and its owner, Vince McMahon, in a U.S. District Court in the state of Connecticut. Some of the more well-known names in the suit include “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, and “Road Warrior Animal” Joseph Laurinaitis.
The plaintiffs allege that the organization “routinely failed to care for WWE wrestlers” in meaningful or medically competent ways and, in some cases, “took steps to actively conceal and fraudulently misrepresent the exact nature and extent of those injuries.” As such, the suit alleges that the plaintiffs’ long-term neurological injuries and debilitations, such as Jimmy Snuka’s diagnosed dementia, resulted directly from the actions – or, more accurately, negligence – of the WWE and its organizers.
Predictably, the WWE has formally denied the lawsuit’s allegations, but whether the case will be successful is indeed questionable. A similar case was dismissed earlier in 2016 (U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant) on the grounds that the wrestlers, as professionals in the activity, were “paid to engage in physical violence” as a “known and purposeful part of the activity,” and that the plaintiffs “knew or should have reasonably anticipated the risk” precisely because their performances were scripted rather than unscripted.
At the same time, athletic organizations – be they professional or school-sponsored – also owe a duty of care to these performers to protect them from unreasonable or unforeseen danger, and this is where much of the current debate lies. Perhaps this ambitious case against the WWE, the world’s largest and most profitable overseer of staged professional wrestling, could set a stronger precedent for future cases between athletes with lifelong debilitations and the organizations which sanctioned their activities.
If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence of another person or entity, contact 844 See Mike for a free consultation. We are a Chicago-based injury law firm representing individuals (and their families) who have suffered an injury in an accident. We will handle your case quickly and advise you every step of the way, and we will not hesitate to go to trial for you.
Lastly, 844 See Mike is not paid attorneys’ fees unless we win your case. Our no-fee promise is that simple. You have nothing to risk when you hire us – only the opportunity to seek justice.
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