Former NFL Running Back Jahvid Best Suing NFL

Former first round pick and Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best is suing the National Football League, helmet maker Riddell and Easton-Bell Sports over concussions. Best filed the lawsuit Tuesday afternoon.

Best, who shined as a running back at the University of California was selected by the Detroit Lions with the 30th overall pick, is now out of the NFL after the Lions released him in July of 2013. In his short amount of time spent in the NFL, Best suffered multiple concussions. Best concussion problems date back to when he played at California, where he suffered two concussions.

The civil lawsuit which was filed by Best can only seek monetary damages, which are damages in which compensation is given to an injured party by a liable party. Best’s attorney, Bret Schnitzer said they do not have a set amount being sought.

Along with the civil suit being filed by Best against the NFL, Riddell and Easton-Bell, Best has also filed for workers compensation against the Detroit Lions. The suit against the Lions is currently pending.

“As I am sure you are probably aware through various media and the ‘Frontline’ program and so on, the brain injuries with concussion syndrome does not necessarily manifest itself completely immediately, as you can see from the other cases. Sometimes it is 10, 20 years where the brain injury process takes to develop and it’s not necessarily going to show itself in a 24-, 25-year-old football player to the extent that it might 10, 15, 20 years down the road.”

“So one of the goals of the litigation is to protect Mr. Best down the road in terms of his medical condition and problems that he may have in the future.”

The National Football League declined to comment on the situation.

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