Why is former LSU safety Greg Brooks Jr. suing the university?
In a lawsuit that alleges negligence on the part of LSU and its affiliated hospital, the now paralyzed former safety has made some disturbing accusations.
The former Tigers’ safety appears to have had his football career cut short by what he believes was a combination of negligence and malpractice. Worse still is that he now suffers from what appear to be permanent effects of an operation gone wrong.
LSU’s Greg Brooks Jr. sues the university
According to reports this week, LSU now faces a tricky situation in that former Tigers safety Greg Brooks Jr. is suing the university and its affiliated medical center for negligence, following an operation for a brain tumor that was discovered last fall. It is understood that Brooks’ football career came to an end after surgery was performed to remove the brain tumor.
It is with the above-mentioned as context, that the former student-athlete has accused the coaching staff of inaction and the trainers of misdiagnosing his condition. Further to that, the lawsuit also indicates that Brooks is suing the team surgeon who operated on him. As per reports, Brooks has stated that he continues to suffer from “catastrophic neurological injuries” and is “permanently disabled” from the brain surgery conducted by Dr. Brandon Gaynor, at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge.
Brooks has disclosed that he has suffered “multiple strokes” since the surgery which he alleges constituted medical malpractice. Where the allegations against the university’s coaching staff are concerned, Brooks explained that the coaches encouraged him to play while ill and threatened to remove him from the starting lineup if he did not take the field. The 23-year-old has also claimed that LSU’s trainers did not diagnose his condition correctly and worse yet, refused to recommend him to a neurologist until weeks had passed.
Yet, perhaps most damning of all is the lawsuit’s claim that Brooks will “likely need care for the rest of his life” due to his paralysis. He was diagnosed with posterior fossa syndrome, a condition that impacts speech, motor skills, and behavior. Additional reports indicate that Brooks is now unable to walk and struggles to speak. Brooks alleges that the development of the syndrome is a “direct result of the neurosurgeons’ malpractice.” In his brief career, Brooks featured in 50 games between Arkansas and LSU during which he notched a total of 93 tackles and six interceptions. He is the son of Greg Brooks, who spent two years in the NFL after being selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL Draft.