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NFL Opioid Class Action Lawsuit Overview:
- Who: Richard Dent and Jim McMahon filed a class action lawsuit against the NFL.
- Why: Plaintiffs are trying to get a judge to certify a Class of former NFL players who allege the league failed in its duty to protect their health and safety by issuing them medication without regard to their well-being.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.
A group of former NFL players are continuing to pursue a class action lawsuit alleging the league forced them to take opioids and other prescription drugs in order to remain on the field.
The new certification bid, filed by lead plaintiffs and ex-NFL Super Bowl champions Richard Dent and Jim McMahon, comes only a week after their initial Class certification was denied by a California federal judge.
Dent and McMahon once again asked for the court to certify a Class of former NFL players who received medication from a team they were playing for between 1973 and 2008, alleging the league had a duty to protect the health and safety of its players.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup had declined a request made on Aug. 31, saying that a non class litigation would make more sense since each NFL team had a different approach and procedures when it came to distributing medication to players.
Dent and McMahon have been pursuing a class action lawsuit against the NFL since 2014, when they first alleged the league failed in its duty to protect players by limiting the volume and type of medication they were prescribed.
NFL Routinely Issued Players Opioids and Other Prescriptions to Keep Them on the Field, a Class Action Lawsuit Claims
Plaintiffs say the NFL routinely issued them opioids, anti-inflammatories, and local anesthetics with no regard for prescriptions, prior medical histories, or possible interactions with other medications.
The NFL has argued that any medication was given to players by team doctors and trainers who were not directly affiliated with the league office, and that it can’t be held liable for “myriad unique interactions between thousands of players and hundreds of Club medical personnel over the course of 35 years.”
The class action lawsuit has gone back and forth between trial and appeals courts over the years, with a judge dismissing it in December 2014 before it was brought back to life in September 2018 by the Ninth District.
The class action lawsuit was dismissed again in April 2019 before the Ninth District revived it once again in August 2020, claiming at the time that players claims could be pursued under the theory the league had a voluntary requirement to monitor the medication being given to players in its league.
A California federal judge declined the NFL’s request to have the case dismissed in February, saying whether or not the players’ claim of negligence on the part of the league being preempted by the Labor Management Relations Act will rely on the evidence they put forth.
Plaintiffs then asked a judge in May to certify a Class of all NFL players who were in the league between Jan. 1, 1973 and Dec. 31, 2008 who received medications such as corticosteroids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, opioids, or local anesthetics from a team.
Do you believe the NFL had a duty to and failed to protect the health and safety of its players by issuing them medication haphazardly? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by William N. Sinclair, Steven D. Silverman, Andrew G. Slutkin, Joseph F. Murphy Jr., Christopher Macchiaroli, and Phillip J. Closius of Silverman Thompson Slutkin White LLC, Mel T. Owens of Namanny Byrne & Owens PC and Stuart A. Davidson and Mark J. Dearman of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP. The NFL Painkillers Class Action Lawsuit is Axelrod, et al. v. Lenovo (United States) Inc., Case No. 4:21-cv-06770, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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