A legal question...

[ljudge]

Any lawyers out there???

I'm having difficulty understanding HOW the Riddell company can possibly be held liable in Corey Stringer's death. I felt horrible for the Stringer family when this tragedy happened so I want to be sensitive to asking the question. The guy practiced in hot and humid weather from what I understand with football equipment on, and on top of it he was a pretty big guy. I just fail to understand how the equipment maker can possibly be held liable.

This was in a Philly newspaper today....

"Noteworthy. A federal judge ruled that Korey Stringer's widow can proceed with her negligence lawsuit against the NFL and equipment maker Riddell Inc. over his heatstroke death.

Kelci Stringer sued the league and Riddell after her husband's death in 2001, claiming the NFL had not done enough to ensure that equipment used by players protected them from injuries or deaths caused by the heat.
Korey Stringer, a 335-pound lineman for the Minnesota Vikings, died from heatstroke after he practiced in sweltering heat and humidity, which pushed his body temperature to 108.8 degrees. He was 27."

[HLin NC]

and Riddell is not yet held liable, the judge has just allowed the suit against them to go forward. It does not mean she will prevail.

Riddell had probably filed motions to have their case dropped and the ruling went against them.

[sj]

I think the idea of attorney's is to attach everything that moves to lawsuits. No matter how weak the case might be against Riddel he had a helmet on for some of the day that day so that attorneys attached them.

[grantsrc]

Next thing you know she will be suing the companies that made/manufactured the food he ate. How dare they include so many calories that he gained so much weight.

I absolutely despise how sue-happy our society is.

[Jim D]

This is an excellent reason to join NASO. Even if we are great officials and do our jobs perfectly, we can get sued. We need the insurance and legal help they offer.

[Forksref]

I know some will take this as being insensitive, but I have always thought that the number one person responsible was Kory Stringer. As a professional athlete, I think he should have been aware of the warning signs of heat stroke. He should know his body better than anyone. This is especially true for someone of his weight and position. I think the athlete is going to be aware of the signs before someone else will notice them.

If he was never educated as to those warning signs, then I think the responsibility could go elsewhere, such as the team, team doctors, trainers, etc. If the team "climate" was such that it was frowned upon to report these signs and to take a break, then the team should be held responsible.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by ljudge

Any lawyers out there???

I'm having difficulty understanding HOW the Riddell company can possibly be held liable in Corey Stringer's death.

Heat escapes the body through the head. The Riddell helmet didn't sufficiently allow heat to escape Stringer's body.

That's her contention.

[parepat]

I wonder if Stringer was maybe wearing an under armor type shirt made by riddell that was advertised fro use in heat. Just a thought