According to a Miami Herald report, the Miami Dolphins have been named as a defendent in a newly filed lawsuit concerning concussion-related injuries. According to the report, this is believed to be the first lawsuit that names individual teams as defendents, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Tennessee Titans, and Philadelphia Eagles joining Miami, as well as the NFL, NFL Properties, and Riddell, which prodices the helmets for the NFL.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in Hillsborough County, Florida, which includes Tampa. The plantiffs are listed as former NFL players Jimmie Giles, Arron Sears, Donald Smith, and Calvin Woods.
The interesing part of the lawsuit is, according to the Miami Herald's research, none of the players ever played a single down in an NFL game for the Dolphins. Giles spent 13 seasons in the NFL, playing for the Houston Oilers (now Tennessee), Tampa Bay, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Sears played two years with the Buccaneers, while Smith played in three games for Dallas in 1991.
No record of Woods could be found.
By filing a lawsuit including NFL teams, the plantiffs are alleging that the teams knowingly covered up the effects of concussions, and lied to the players about the injuries. Meanwhile, the defense will argue that, since the teams are the direct employer of the player, any injury claims should be dealt with through worker's compensation.
You can follow this lawsuit, as well as any lawsuit facing the league over the consussion issue, at NFLConcussionLitigation.com.