Head Injuries In - and Out - Of the NFL

Albert Conforzi

Toronto Personal Injury Lawyer Albert Conforzi - I came across an interesting piece about lawsuits in the United States regarding head injuries from playing NFL football. The NFL is suing over 30 insurers for refusing to defend the NFL in some 143 injury lawsuits brought by former players. I wonder how long it will be before similar types of lawsuits are attempted in Canada, and how the insurers here will respond?

In the past couple of years, there has been a lot of talk about head injuries in the NHL. Indeed, our own Facebook page is highlighting the plight of people suffering from concussions. The NHL, no doubt, is paying very careful attention to what is happening in the NFL.

The NFL news story focuses on the insurance issues that arise in these types of cases, especially where multiple insurers are involved. Whenever there are a series of insurers exposed to a risk there will always be a protracted argument about which one of them will be on the hook when something happens. In sports where there is constant or repeated injury, the question is: when did the blow occur that actually caused the injury? The answer to that question can help define which insurer was actually on risk at the time of the incident.

Marian Hossa after a head shot during the 2012 playoffs. (Chicago Tribune)

The knowledge base regarding head injury and its "long tail" effects is growing exponentially. Even mild traumatic brain injury is now recognized as having the potential to cause lingering effects long after the acute phase has subsided. The arguments about the sufficiency of headgear, whether it be for football, hockey, or skiing, is ongoing. Cases like the Sidney Crosby hockey injury or the skiing related death of actress Natasha Richardson continue to fuel research into the area.

My experience with traumatic brain injury lies more with motor vehicle accidents than it does with sports, but in my opinion they are both trivialized. In motor vehicle accidents, the potential long term impact of mild traumatic brain injury has long been viewed through rose coloured glasses by insurers to avoid compensating victims.

We are fast arriving at the point where insurers will no longer be able to deny what medical science is busy proving: head injuries have long term effects, and the effects are serious. Unfortunately, it seems that many people are going to be hurt before that message is received.

Albert Conforzi is a personal injury lawyer with Pace Law Firm in Toronto. His posts generally appear on Mondays.

A Complicated and Unique Personal Injury Case

Phil Paglino

by Phil Paglino - Pace Law Firm: I was speaking with someone the other day about a personal injury case that I recently handled in Toronto.

Romita v. Sohi, 2010 ONSC 6587 (CanLII) (“Romita”) – The facts were complicated and very unique. The insurer of the Plaintiff's work vehicle admitted in its defence that it provided the Plaintiff with OPCF 44 R coverage (underinsurance coverage). However, a day prior to Examinations for Discovery, the insurer advised that it would be moving for an order withdrawing its admission of coverage. The Plaintiff also had a motor vehicle insurance policy on his family vehicle.

As a result of the insurer of the Plaintiff’s work vehicle sudden and drastic change in position, the Plaintiff had no choice but to try to add the insurer of his family vehicle to the claim. However, the insurer of the family vehicle vigorously opposed, arguing that the Plaintiff was in breach of the limitation period under the OPCF 44 R Endorsement.

The Plaintiff was substantially successful following the hearing of the motion. The insurer of the work vehicle was not allowed to withdraw its admission and the insurer of the family vehicle was added to the claim. The Plaintiff was also awarded $15,000 in legal costs following the motion. The insurer of the family vehicle launched an appeal, but this was denied.

IMPORTANCE OF THE CASE:

The facts of Romita are highly distinguishable from past cases where Plaintiffs were not successful in adding an insurer for underinsurance coverage. Courts in those cases held that the Plaintiff did not recognize that they had a claim for underinsured motorist coverage within the requisite limitation period. In stark contrast, Mr. Romita commenced an action for underinsurance coverage against the appropriate insurer within the prescribed time, as acknowledged by the Court.

Implicit in this decision is the recognition of our judiciary that there are situations where an insurer’s sudden and unexpected change in its opinion on insurance coverage could detrimentally impact a prudent Plaintiff who relied on those representations.

Overcoming Injury

If any of our blog's readers have been injured and are going through some hardship, this story may give you more hope. Here is an amazing story of a woman who is overcoming unbelievable hardship with poise and determination:

Cyndi Desjardins has been overwhelmed by the community’s support while working toward reclaiming her life.

The Holland Landing wife and mother of two underwent rehabilitation and learned to use prosthetic limbs at Toronto’s West Park Hospital last year after having a quadruple amputation due to necrotizing fascitis, more commonly known as flesh-eating disease.

The rare, but vicious bacterial disease affects about 200 Canadians a year.

The article goes on to describe how Ms. Dejardins is now a motivational speaker who helps others. Be sure to read the whole thing.