UCLA football injury lawsuit transferred to Illinois for multidistrict litigation

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Update:

• A proposed class action lawsuit on behalf of Mark Gustafson, a former University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) football player, related to head injuries he incurred on the field was moved to federal court in the Northern District of Illinois to join Multidistrict Litigation (MDL).
• The proposed class action named UCLA, the Pac-12 athletic conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association as defendants.
• The lawsuit, in front of Judge Manish S. Shah, is one of 584 cases added to the MDL since it was first created Dec. 18, 2013.
• Gustafson’s family claims he developed dementia caused by repeated hits as a UCLA football player in the 1960s.

UCLA player death class action overview: 

• Who: Plaintiffs Jeannie Griggs and Jasmine Patterson filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and as heirs of former UCLA football player Mark Gustafson against the Pac-12 athletic conference and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 
• Why: The plaintiffs allege Gustafson suffered from dementia caused by repeated hits as a UCLA football player while the NCAA and Pac-12 knew returning from head injuries was dangerous and did not put into place actions to protect athletes.
• Where: The UCLA player death class action was filed in federal court in California.

(Aug. 25, 2023)

The family of former UCLA football player Mark Gustafson, who played the sport decades before his death, has filed a class action lawsuit against both the Pac-12 athletic conference and National Collegiate Athletic Association, claiming the league and organization knew the dangers of repeated hits to the head but did nothing to stop athletes from returning to play after head injuries.

Those head injuries led to long-term brain injury that, in the case of Gustafson, showed up as dementia before his death. Gustafson played at UCLA in the 1960s and died in 2021 from, among other things, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.

“Despite possessing a wealth of scientific literature and research that articulated the dangers of TBIs, defendants failed to enact policies and procedures to protect Mark Gustafson and other UCLA football players,” the UCLA player death class action says. “In fact, some of this ample scientific information came from researchers and clinicians from member institutions of the NCAA and Pac-12.”

UCLA football injury class proposed to include players from 1966 to 2010

The proposed class includes all individuals who participated in UCLA’s varsity football program between 1966 and 2010. The UCLA football injury class action is asking for damages and the actions of both the NCAA and Pac-12 to constitute negligence, fraudulent concealment and breach of contract.

In other football-related news, retired NFL player Michael Oher claims the Tennessee couple who took him into their home as a teenager lied about adopting him and, instead, tricked him into signing a conservatorship to enrich themselves. 

Do you believe the NCAA should be accountable for long-term cognitive issues of football players? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Todd Logan of Edelson P.C., along with Patrick DeBlase of DeBlase Brown Eyerly LLP and Justin Shrader, D’Arcy L.R. Rapp, Jim Hartle and Nick Fernelius of Shrader and Associates.

The UCLA player death class action lawsuit is Griggs, et al. v. Pac-12 Conference, et al., Case No. 2:23-cv-06926, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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