Broncos' Aaron Patrick Sues NFL, ESPN And Chargers Over ACL Injury Suffered During MNF Game
According to The Athletic, linebacker Aaron Patrick has filed a lawsuit again the NFL, the Los Angeles Rams, the Los Angeles Chargers, SoFi Stadium, ESPN and other entities after he tore his ACL during the Broncos' Week 6 matchup against the Chargers.
Patrick alleges that negligence created a "dangerous" sideline condition that contributed to his injury. Per The Athletic, the suit seeks unspecified damages, as well as lost wages and relief from "pain and suffering and emotional distress." According to Pro Football Talk, the NFL, ESPN, the Chargers and the Rams all declined comment on the lawsuit. The Chargers were the home team the night of the incident, the Rams are the owners of SoFi Stadium, and ESPN was broadcasting the event. Jordan Dajani
Patrick's complaint also contends that ownership of the venue owed a duty of care to those with access to the field, and that ownership allowed an unsafe condition to exist on those premises.
Patrick has sued anyone and everyone connected to the situation. While some may call that excessive, it's prudent. The only way to get to the truth is to blame everyone who arguably was responsible, and hope that they'll try to blame each other. Eventually, a jury will decide which of the defendants are to blame.
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Obviously, Patrick bears no blame. He was simply doing his job — and trying not to wipe out a worker who was in his path.
His attorney, William M. Berman from Berman & Riedel, released a statement:
"Player safety should be the foremost of importance to the NFL and its owners. The NFL is a multibillion-dollar sports enterprise and business, and it needs to do everything possible to protect its players from non-contact game injuries.
"As for Patrick's injuries, SoFi Stadium was built at a $5,000,000,000 expense; the stadium should have the state-of-the-art equipment to protect for player safety, and not use the type of $100 mats that you would expect to see in a restaurant kitchen."
Patrick finished that game, which was a 19-16 victory for the Chargers, with one tackle.
The Eastern Kentucky product appeared in 12 games for the Broncos last season as well as five games this season before suffering the injury.
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