Two ex-pro wrestlers sue WWE over concussions
Two former WWE professional wrestlers say they have serious brain injuries after suffering repeated concussions in the ring.
And they have filed a potential class-action lawsuit against the Connecticut-based company in federal court in Philadelphia, US.
Vito LoGrasso, 50, of Coatesville, Pennsylvania, and Evan Singleton, 22, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, accuse World Wrestling Entertainment of “selling violence” and ignoring their “numerous” concussions.
The lawsuit state that WWE has - for decades - subjected its wrestlers to extreme physical hurt that it knows or should have known causes a variety of medical problems that include brain damage.
All in the name of entertainment.
LoGrasso, whose ring names included Big Vito and Skull Von Krush, (who wrestled in the WWE from 1991 to 1998 and from 2005 to 2007) was “seriously and obviously injured countless times,” according to the lawsuit.
Vito LoGrasso going for the big move during his time in WWE
It said he was “forced to wrestle though he was losing consciousness before and during matches.”
LoGrasso now suffers from “serious neurological damage” and has memory loss, depression and anxiety, the lawsuit said.
Singleton wrestled for WWE under the name of Adam Mercer from 2012 to 2013. He started his career at the age of 19 and was among the youngest wrestlers in WWE history.
He now has “an array of serious symptoms” including tremors, convulsions, memory loss and “impaired ability to reason.”
The lawsuit is similar to those filed in several other US sports, including the National Football League, whose settlement with former players over concussions could reach as high as $1 billion.
Attorney Jerry McDevitt, representing the WWE, said the suit was similar to one filed in Oregon and that WWE had never concealed medical information from its wrestlers.
He said:
“WWE was well ahead of sports organizations in implementing concussion management procedures and policies as a precautionary measure as the science and research on this issue emerged.”
Source: Reuters, Twitter, YouTube
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