Football Helmet Company Makes Unsafe
Product. Manufacturer Riddell currently in class-action lawsuit, company allegedly doesn’t care about brain trauma. Recent documents show that helmets were incapable of protecting football players from concussion and other brain injuries. The company did not include warnings on its products until 2002. Football helmet company makes unsafe product, endangering players. Helmet technology has barely changed despite Riddell’s knowledge that the helmets would not protect players from brain trauma. Riddell owns a near monopoly over the helmet manufacturing industry. Only in 2002 did Riddell start selling their first supposedly anti-concussion helmet. There was almost no change in the industry standard for helmets. The basic M155 design dominated the helmet industry for two decades. Players claim it was wholly unable to protect athletes from traumatic brain injury. Why did such a robust industry become so small? The answer is litigation, as the 1970’s and 1980’s saw a wave of lawsuits. Most were from high school players. Players held helmet companies responsible for injuries suffered on the gridiron. The number of lawsuits against football helmet manufacturers had doubled in just three years. They were fueled in part by jury awards reaching into the millions. The Journal cites a 1971 case in which a Miami youth was awarded $5.3 million from Riddell. One ongoing case at the time of publication was seeking “unspecified damages equal to one-fourth of Riddell’s assets.” The monetary damages suffered in court were problematic for sporting goods companies. The rising insurance premiums resulted in the increase of litigation was an even bigger factor in pushing firms out of the industry. Companies that were previously paying in the $1,000-$75,000 range for yearly insurance premiums were suddenly being charged as much as $400,000. “The cost of product liability insurance alone has increased for some from a fraction of a penny to six cents on the dollar.” Read the rest of the main article here Originally Posted by Jack Moore of Vocativ