{"id":430,"date":"2012-04-05T11:16:48","date_gmt":"2012-04-05T16:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/?p=430"},"modified":"2012-04-05T18:27:39","modified_gmt":"2012-04-05T23:27:39","slug":"bernie-parrish-joins-the-nfl-concussion-lawsuits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/?p=430","title":{"rendered":"Bernie Parrish Joins the NFL Concussion Lawsuits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Known as a vocal critic<\/a> of the NFL and the Players\u2019 Association over their handling of former players\u2019 pensions and benefits, Bernie Parrish<\/a> has officially joined the fight against the NFL for its alleged concealment of the risks related to concussions.<\/p>\n

In a lawsuit filed yesterday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Parrish\u2019s complaint paints a picture of the NFL\u2019s actions during his playing days with the Cleveland Browns. During a game in 1963, Parrish was kicked in the head by an opposing player that \u201crendered him unconscious.\u201d Despite the obvious concussion, Parrish was \u201cimmediately returned to play,\u201d according to the complaint. In addition the lawsuit alleges that Parrish \u201ccurrently suffers from neurological conditions and symptoms related to multiple head traumas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawsuit asserts three counts: negligence, fraudulent concealment and negligent misrepresentation. Parrish seeks compensatory and punitive damages, and also medical monitoring due to the increased risk of \u201clatent brain disease,\u201d according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

Parrish is represented by Frederick Schenk<\/a> of Casey Gerry in San Diego California. Schenk was not immediately available for comment.<\/p>\n

Parrish has a well-documented history of taking on the NFL and the Players\u2019 Association. He is the author of the best selling and controversial book \u201cThey Call it a Game<\/a>.\u201d He also published a similar tell-all book, Delay & Deny<\/a> that chronicles the NFL\u2019s alleged concealment about the risk of concussions.<\/p>\n

Parrish appears to be a strong voice for the former players in the current concussion litigation, as he took part in a Congressional hearing<\/a> before the Judiciary Committee in January 2010. In his comments, Parrish hammers the NFL and the Players\u2019 Association for dragging their feet on the concussion issue, analogizing the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee to the Tobacco Industries’ self-funded junk science and cover-ups. Parrish also nails the Bert Bell\/Pete Rozelle Retirement Board for alleged corruption and arbitrary denials of former players\u2019 request for disability coverage related to brain injuries. And, in a twist of irony, Parrish calls out one of the members of the Board, Dave Duerson, as \u201ca former NFL player and bankrupt business man crony of the late Gene Upshaw,\u201d according to the Congressional transcript.<\/p>\n

Coincidentally, Duerson\u2019s family brought a wrongful death<\/a> lawsuit against the NFL in February, alleging that Duerson\u2019s brain damage and later suicide was caused from the NFL\u2019s concealment about concussions.<\/p>\n

Parrish is also very familiar with litigation, as he was a former named plaintiff in a class action against the NFLPA over unpaid royalties from the use of retirees\u2019 names and likeness. The lawsuit, Adderley v. NFLPA, was eventually settled for $26.5 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Parrish\u2019s lawsuit is the 56th<\/sup> concussion lawsuit against the NFL, and there are more than 1,060 players involved, with more expected in the following weeks.<\/p>\n

The case is Bernard Parrish v. National Football League, Case No. 2-12-cv-01700, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia).<\/p>\n

This article cannot be reproduced without the authorization of the author, any use or quotes must be attributed to the author and NFLConcussionLitigation.com.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Known as a vocal critic of the NFL and the Players\u2019 Association over their handling of former players\u2019 pensions and benefits, Bernie Parrish has officially joined the fight against the NFL for its alleged concealment of the risks related to concussions. In a lawsuit filed yesterday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Parrish\u2019s complaint paints […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=430"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":440,"href":"https:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430\/revisions\/440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}