In an especially tragic story that hits close to home, the Decatur, GA widow of a former NFL player has filed a lawsuit which says she was denied what was supposed to have been decades of happy retirement with her husband due to the severe concussions he sustained during his years playing professional football.
The woman, Kay Morris, was married to Larry Morris, a former linebacker for the Bears, Rams and later the Falcons. Larry Morris had an illustrious career, including being named the MVP of the 1963 Championship Game. Though he loved the game, his wife says her husband suffered multiple serious head injuries during his career.
Mrs. Morris says the league failed to take any meaningful steps to protect her husband. Even after serious collisions players would be sent back on the field to continue playing. Doctors used no sophisticated tools or strategies to safeguard players, instead, the test was limited to holding up some fingers and making sure the player could count. If so, the player was told to suit up and head back out to finish the game.
Earlier this week, Mrs. Morris filed suit against the NFL claiming that the league was aware of the dangers posed by head injuries, but failed to do enough to protect the players from harm. The suit is one of several thousand that have been filed against the National Football League, alleging the organization was negligent in not protecting those who risked their lives each time they took the field.
Larry Morris began showing signs of lasting damage fairly early in life, with examples of serious memory issues present in his 40s. By 52 Morris had been diagnosed with dementia and thus began a long, slow decline. The last few decades have been hard on the family, watching as dementia ravaged his mind and altered his personality. Morris eventually passed away in December from complications related to his dementia.
In her lawsuit, Mrs. Morris says that while her husband loved the game, he had no clue it could result in 20 years of poor quality of life. She’s now suing for losing that quality time with her husband and hopes that her suit will help force the NFL to take much needed action to protect current and future players from suffering similar harm.
Pope McGlamry P.C., currently represents former professional football players and their families for injuries and damages sustained as a result of suffering concussions while playing football, and is actively involved in this litigation. If you or someone you love has been injured by a sports-related concussion, you may be entitled to compensation.
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