Ex-Eagles captain Chris Maragos wins $43.5M verdict against doctors over career-ending knee injury
A Philadelphia jury ordered doctors to pay former Eagles special-teams captain Chris Maragos $43.5 million on Monday in a medical malpractice lawsuit related to treatment for a career-ending injury.
Maragos sued Dr. James Bradley and Rothman Orthopaedics Institute, alleging that they ignored meniscus damage while surgically repairing and rehabilitating a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee sustained in the 2017 season. Bradley performed the surgery and oversaw Maragos' rehab alongside Rothman Orthopaedics.
Bradley is a renowned Pittsburgh-based surgeon who previously served as the Steelers team surgeon and has operated on numerous athletes, including former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz. He's a member of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Hall of Fame. Rothman's doctors oversee the Eagles' orthopaedic care.
Per the Philadelphia Inquirer, jurors deliberated Monday for less than three hours following a two-week trial that included testimony from former Eagles players Trey Burton, Jordan Hicks and Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles. The jury ordered Bradley to pay roughly $29.2 million and Rothman to pay $14.3 million.
According to the Inquirer, Maragos' attorneys argued that his doctors' alleged negligence led to the premature end of his career and ongoing knee issues. They alleged that doctors allowed Maragos to run during his rehab, leading to “further complications and ultimately the premature end" of his career.
Maragos, 36, testified that he has undergone two subsequent surgeries on his knee and is now considering having a knee replacement.
“I’m the only dad who is not out there playing flag football,” Maragos said, per the Inquirer.
In a post-verdict statement, Maragos' attorney, Dion G. Rassias, implied that Bradley and Rothman prioritized Maragos' expedient return to the field over his long-term health.
“This case and this jury may have changed the course of history by now forcing these team doctors and trainers to stop worrying about when a player might return to play and start thinking about the next 50 years of a player’s life,” Rassias said, per the Inquirer.
Bradley argued on the stand that if Maragos had needed surgery on his meniscus, he would've performed it, but based on his medical judgment, Maragos didn't meniscus surgery. His attorneys argued that surgery would've done more harm than good.
“I’m a surgeon. That’s what I do,” he said, per the Inquirer. “If I had to operate on that, I’d operate on that in a heartbeat."
Bradley's and Rothman's attorneys argued that Maragos damaged his meniscus in a separate weight-lifting injury months after his PCL operation, the Inquirer reported. Attorney Melissa L. Mazur argued that doctors couldn't have done anything to extend Maragos' career at 31 years old.
"Unfortunately he just had a really, really bad injury that he couldn’t come back from,” she said, per the Inquirer.
Jurors disagreed.
The verdict arrived a day after Philadelphia's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. According to the Inquirer, Bradley's attorney, John C. Conti, contested that the atmosphere around the game during a trial in Philadelphia had an "enormous impact" on the jury.
“That’s an awful strong tide to swim against,” he said.
Maragos played eight seasons in the NFL as a defensive back and on special teams for the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Eagles. He spent his final four seasons in Philadelphia, including the 2017 season that saw the Eagles win the Super Bowl. Maragos suffered his PCL tear in Week 6 that season against the Carolina Panthers. He didn't play football again.
