NFL Liable?

The NFL's new concussion protocols failed in the St. Louis Rams game on Sunday, November 22nd, when the Rams quarterback, Case Keenum, was allowed to play after his head slammed into the field. Keenum then had two incompletions and lost a fumble that cost his team the game, and the Ravens won over the Rams, 16-13.

 

The NFL is now considering whether to discipline future protocol failures.  The league held a mandatory teleconference Tuesday night that included the head trainer from each team and team doctors to review the league's concussion protocols. "The team medical staffs discussed the events that led to the failure to remove St. Louis Rams quarterback Case Keenum from Sunday's game, and reviewed the proper implementation of the league's concussion protocols to ensure that players are removed from the field for a medical evaluation as required by the protocols," an NFL statement said. The league and the NFL Players Association will "make improvements as necessary to protect the health and safety of NFL players, including consideration of discipline for future violations of the protocols," the league said.The protocols are designed to assess and manage player concussions, which have led to a class-action legal controversy for the league, as thousands of players sued the NFL in 2012 for negligence for failing to tell players of the link between concussions and brain damage called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

The NFL, which once sought to dismiss the suit, and the players eventually reached a settlement that provides up to $5 million per retired player for serious medical conditions associated with repeated head trauma.

 After Sunday's game, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher acknowledged the mistake, but he noted that Keenum did speak with the team head trainer after the quarterback's head was slammed to the gridiron on the Rams' final drive of the game. Keenum reportedly told the trainer he was “OK”. The ATC spotter assumed that the trainer was taking care of any potential concussion, Fisher said. "His assumption, because our trainer was on the field, was that it had been taken care of. That's why the officiating department was not notified," Fisher said.   

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2593991-rams-reportedly-wont-be-penalized-for-handling-of-case-keenums-concussion (2:30)

Fisher Pledges that players, team, and league will work better and harder to ensure this won't happen again.   

Sources:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2593991-rams-reportedly-wont-be-penalized-for-handling-of-case-keenums-concussion