Widow of Raiders QB Joins NFL CTE Concussion Class Action

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Rose Stabler, the widow of infamous Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler, has joined the latest concussion-based class action lawsuit against the NFL. Former player Tracy Scroggins originally filed the civil racketeering lawsuit against the NFL on March 25, alleging the NFL concealed information related to repeated head trauma causing CTE.

The amended complaint submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida lists former NFL players Tracy Scroggins, Quinn Gray and Danny Gorrer along with Rose Stabler as plaintiffs. The filing comes a week after Scroggins filed a lawsuit that sought relief under the civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

Ken Stabler, nicknamed “The Snake” died last July of colon cancer, but the Super Bowl-winning quarterback also had Stage 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease, that was discovered posthumously, according to a New York Times report cited in the amended complaint.

CTE has been linked with repeated head trauma, such as the blows delivered in football, and can cause memory loss and depression, among other symptoms. Boston University has now found CTE in 90 of the 94 former NFL players it has studied, seven of which were quarterbacks.

While, the actual connection between concussions and brain degeneration is not yet fully understood, the NFL has refuted research that connects brain trauma to cognitive function for years.

Stabler retired during the 1984 season after 15 years in the league. He played most of his career with the Oakland Raiders, but also spent time with the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints. The four-time Pro Bowl selection amassed 27,938 passing yards with 194 touchdowns. He will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer.

Still, the addition of three new plaintiffs doesn’t change the approach to Scroggins’ original complaint that used an NFL executive’s March 14 comments on Capitol Hill and allegations an NFL study downplayed incidences of concussions that appeared in a New York Times report last week.

According to the complaint, which relies heavily on investigations reported by the Times, the NFL purposely under-reported the dangers of repeated head trauma, standing by faulty research studies. The plaintiffs further allege that the league hid data on the actual number of reported concussions for the past four decades.

“Despite its knowledge of the grave risks players in the NFL have been exposed to because of the defendant’s concerted inaction or concealment of safety information, the defendant carelessly failed to take reasonable steps to develop appropriate and necessary steps to alert players to their risk of long-term neurogenic illness,” the amended class action states.

The NFL has vehemently disputed the Times reports, even going so far as to demand a retraction and threaten legal action, accusing the reports of being defamatory.

The lawsuit also challenges the NFL Concussion Settlement reached last year between the league and former players in a multidistrict litigation, stating that it forecloses any future award since only players who were diagnosed with CTE between Jan. 1, 2006 and Apr. 22, 2015 are eligible for an award.

This cut-off date however excludes former players who were diagnosed with CTE, such as Stabler, and their families to receive compensation under the settlement. If it weren’t for this settlement condition, Stabler’s family would have been able to recover nearly $1 million, the amended complaint states.

“The NFL Concussion Settlement fails to address CTE and grotesquely denies any recovery for NFL players alive and dead with and from CTE,” the attorney for the plaintiffs said.

The plaintiffs are bringing several claims including concealment, civil conspiracy, and negligence along with allegations the NFL violated the RICO Act. They are seeking for the NFL to establish a mandatory medical monitoring program for all past, current, and future NFL players who may suffer from head trauma leading to CTE as well as compensatory damages, expenses and “intangible losses” for all named plaintiffs and their spouses.

The plaintiffs are represented by represented by Tim Howard of Howard & Associates PA.

The NFL CTE Concussion Class Action Lawsuit is Tracy Scroggins, et al. v. National Football League, Case No. 0:16-cv-60644, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.