Chris Maragos, ex-Eagles captain, awarded $43.5 million in medical malpractice suit

“On Sunday, my crew played the Superbowl, and I could only watch and surprise whether I could have been out there with them had I obtained right medical treatment,” the 36-yr-old mentioned in a assertion. “While I stay in frequent agony and will hardly ever get back on the area, I hope this selection sends a information to teams’ health care staffs that gamers are individuals, not just contracts.”

Lawyers for Maragos had contended that just after he experienced a proper knee damage in an Oct 2017 activity from the Carolina Panthers, he was diagnosed with a torn posterior cruciate ligament, which was surgically repaired by Bradley. Problems to Maragos’s meniscus was ignored, on the other hand, the attorneys explained, even immediately after a May possibly 2018 MRI exam showed the harm worsening. That advancement should really have saved Bradley and the Rothman rehabilitation team from approving Maragos to progress to larger actual physical routines, but rather, per his lawyers, the clinical team authorized him to location “undue stress” on his knee.

Adhering to that injuries, Maragos hardly ever once more played in an NFL video game, and he at some point retired in 2019. All through his trial, which incorporated testimony from former Eagles teammates Nick Foles, Trey Burton and Jordan Hicks, a monetary analyst reportedly informed the jury that getting his profession reduce limited cost Maragos at the very least $8.7 million in foreseeable future NFL earnings, had he been equipped to participate in by 2022.

Members of Maragos’s lawful group said in a information release Monday that they “proved at demo that Rothman Orthopaedics produced two individual professional medical charts for Maragos, one of which unsuccessful to incorporate critical notes about his damage and recovery.”

Two thirds of the $43.5 million was assigned to Bradley, for each studies, with the other 3rd made the accountability of Rothman Orthopaedics.

“This verdict will not carry again Chris’ NFL career, but we are grateful the Maragos family eventually bought a evaluate of justice,” lawyer Peter J. Bouquets reported in a statement. “But, this is only the commencing in our hard work to desire further accountability for expert sports franchises and ethical treatment for athletes. This jury’s verdict serves as a reminder that any team’s physician, in any sport, who jeopardizes the nicely-getting of its gamers due to contractual obligations or financial incentives, will be held accountable for their misconduct.”

A pair of attorneys who represented Bradley and Rothman Orthopaedics did not instantly answer to requests for comment.

Throughout the trial, in accordance to the Philadelphia Inquirer, legal professionals for the defendants argued Maragos experienced his meniscus injury in a fat-space incident a number of months soon after his surgical treatment. They also pointed to the ex-player’s age at the time of his surgical procedures, 31, and eight a long time in the NFL in suggesting that Maragos’s occupation was not probable to continue significantly lengthier.

Health professionals who oversaw his rehabilitation were informed of the meniscus difficulty, lawyers stated, but deemed it “stable” and not likely to react well to a surgical method.

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“I’m a surgeon — that’s what I do,” Bradley, the head orthopedic surgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers, reportedly testified. “If I experienced to work on that, I’d function on that in a heartbeat.”

Team medical doctors from numerous other NFL companies (for each Huge Trial) testified in defense of Bradley and his program of treatment method.

An legal professional for Bradley, John C. Conti, claimed soon after the verdict that the timing of the demo experienced “enormous impact,” presented it unfolded as the hometown Eagles have been earning a run to the Tremendous Bowl.

Maragos, a defensive again and exclusive teams ace whose NFL occupation started in 2010 as an undrafted no cost agent with the San Francisco 49ers, joined the Eagles in 2014 right after a few many years with the Seattle Seahawks, with whom he won the Tremendous Bowl right after the 2013 time. He was named a special teams captain at the commence of Philadelphia’s 2017 season, all through which his damage prevented him from enjoying in Philadelphia’s only Super Bowl victory, a 41-33 get about the New England Patriots.

All through his demo, for each the Philadelphia Inquirer, Maragos mentioned his actual physical impairment intended he was “the only dad who is not out there actively playing flag football.”

Next the verdict, he explained: “We’re genuinely grateful and grateful for the end result. We experienced the reality on our facet, and the jury saw it.”