As the fifth anniversary of Philadelphia Special approaches and the Eagles are heading to another Super BowlMVP Nick Foles and former tight end Trey Burton are expected to return to Philadelphia to testify in court.
Opening arguments began on Monday during the civil trial of their former teammate – former Eagles safety and special team ace Chris Maragos – who alleges his NFL career was cut short by a a renowned doctor’s “medical negligence” in treating a knee injury that kept him out of the 2018 Super Bowl and led to his retirement.
On the witness list for the trial, which will take place in a Philadelphia City Hall courtroom: Foles, Burton and former Eagles linebacker Jordan Hicks, who now plays for the Minnesota Vikings.
Maragos, a special All-Pro team member who played four seasons with the Eagles, retired in 2019 due to a knee injury he suffered in Week 6 of the historic Super Bowl season. This end of career injuries and recovery are at the heart of the lawsuit.
” LEARN MORE: Former Eagle Chris Maragos retires from football
Months after announcing his retirement from the NFL, Maragos sued his doctors, including Pittsburgh-based orthopedic surgeon James Bradley. well known for his work with NFL athletes — in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas for “negligent acts…which precipitated and contributed to the end of [Maragos’] professional football career.
Maragos also sued Rothman Orthopedics Institute, whose doctors serve as the Eagles’ team doctors and who oversaw his rehabilitation. Attorneys for Bradley and Rothman have denied all allegations.
After tearing his posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in a game against the Carolina Panthers in 2017, Maragos went to Bradley for ligament repair surgery. But lawyers for the former Eagle claim that surgeon overlooked a second Maragos knee injury: a torn meniscus.
Bradley and Rothman’s rehab team didn’t address the issue, lawyers say, and instead allowed Maragos to move forward with his recovery – for example, allowing him to run on dry land – further damaging his knee.
For this reason, Maragos’ lawyers say he “suffered serious and permanent injuries, great pain and anguish both in mind and body” and was prevented from playing football. professional football, which resulted in a loss of income.
“Chris is in serious trouble for the rest of his life,” his attorney, Dion Rassias, told jurors Monday as Maragos, 36, and his wife sat quietly in the courtroom. Green banners reading “Go Birds” flapped on lampposts outside the courtroom windows.
Before Common Pleas Judge Charles J. Cunningham III, Rassias, sporting a Kelly green tie, described Maragos as the “ultimate gifted man” and a “kid who worked like a dog every step of the way.” …No one gave him a single thing.
After the injury, he said, Maragos’ dream is “shattered”.
Lawyers for Bradley and Rothman said doctors were well aware of Maragos’ meniscus problem, including in his knee, but it would have been irresponsible and more disruptive to perform additional surgeries on standout safety. Additionally, they argued, Maragos’ meniscus problems escalated in a separate case months after PCL surgery, as he twisted his body on a leg press and heard a “click/pop” in the joint and felt pain.
“More surgeries weren’t going to help him get back into the NFL,” said attorney John C. Conti, representing Bradley. Instead, Conti told the jury, Maragos had a long eight-year run in the NFL — more than double that. the average NFL career of 3.3 years — and that at 31, with Maragos’ arthritis and bow legs, doctors couldn’t do more to prolong his professional career.
The team of doctors wanted Maragos back in the NFL, Rothman’s attorney Melissa L. Mazur said, but “unfortunately, he just had a really, really bad injury that he couldn’t come back from.”
Bradley, who was co-captain of the Penn State team in the early 1970s, is a renowned orthopedic surgeon. Last year, he was inducted into American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine Hall of Fame after serving more than 30 years as team surgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s operated on the knees of top NFL players, including formerSteelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in 2016 and Carson Wentz, then Eagles quarterback, in 2017.
Maragos retired in 2019 with two Super Bowl rings – one from the 2013 Seattle Seahawks and one from the 2018 Eagles. He started his NFL career in 2010 with the San Francisco 49ers, played several seasons with the Seahawks from Seattle and came to Philadelphia in 2014.
” LEARN MORE: Chris Maragos’ winding road to the NFL
After the 2017 knee injury, Maragos never returned to the NFL turf. He spent the year 2018–19 season on the Eagles’ physically unable to perform roster before being released in the offseason.
Maragos wasn’t the only Eagles player injured in the 2018-19 season. That year, the team saw 28 players miss 221 games due to injury – a 57% increase in the number of players lost to injury in the regular season – and a disruption of medical staff.
” LEARN MORE: After injury-plagued 2018 season, Eagles shake up medical staff again
Meanwhile, along with former teammates and friends Hicks and Burton, Maragos kicked off ForpTier Wealth Managementa company that helps NFL players preserve and grow career earnings.
The trial is expected to last about two weeks.