Judge Vanessa L. Bryant of the U.S. District Court of Connecticut has dismissed all concussion-related lawsuits against WWE filed on behalf of former wrestlers by attorney Konstantine Kyros.
Dozens of former wrestlers, including WWE Hall of Fame members Paul Orndorff and Jimmy Snuka, had sued the Stamford-based company over an alleged lack of transparency and protection regarding their health due to concussions, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and other head trauma injuries that they maintained they suffered while wrestling.
Bryant ruled that WWE is not liable for those injuries, stating that some of the complaints were filed incorrectly. She also said that the complaints fell outside five-year statutes of limitations.
Kyros said he planned to appeal Bryant”™s decision.
“The reasoning of the opinion itself is flimsy, as the court finds, in ignorance of the facts, that there is no reasonable basis for the assertions, despite a substantial body of medical peer-reviewed literature going back almost a hundred years,” the attorney said.
“In any event, these are jury issues as the plaintiffs demonstrated that the WWE knew about the risks of head injuries long before the 2007 date the court invents,” he continued. “Additionally, the WWE misclassified, exploited, injured these people in violation of labor laws and continues to ignore that CTE even exists in professional wrestling.
“It is a sad ruling,” Kyros concluded, “and we trust the wrestlers”™ claims will be better received in the appeals courts. I will continue to fight and advocate for wrestlers”™ legal rights despite this tragic opinion that attempts to cast down my clients’ hopes for better lives.”
