The Casper Firm Files $50 Million Lawsuit on Behalf of Former Professional Boxer's Family

BALTIMORE, MD--(Marketwired - May 03, 2017) - The Casper Firm, LLC announced today that it has filed a $50 million lawsuit on behalf of the parents and co-guardians of former super welterweight professional boxing star Prichard Colon. Then 23 years old, Colon suffered a life altering traumatic brain injury during an NBC-televised boxing contest against Terrel Williams on October 17, 2015. The lawsuit filed in the District of Columbia alleges Colon's injuries resulted from the hiring of an unqualified ringside physician who failed to properly evaluate and treat Colon during the match, and the failure of the event promoters to have a brain injury protocol in place to properly protect the boxers whose fight they had arranged.

According to the Complaint, Colon was repeatedly and illegally punched in the back of his head during the match. The suit alleges that despite Colon's complaints throughout the bout about being hit in the back of his head, and his complaints of dizziness and head pain after a blow to the back of his head in the seventh round, the ringside physician -- a family medicine doctor and himself a licensed boxing promoter -- sent Colon back into the ring rather than terminate the fight and send Colon to the hospital for treatment.

Immediately after the fight, Colon collapsed in the locker room. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where surgeons performed an emergency hemicraniectomy to relieve brain swelling and evacuate the massive bleed in his brain. But the surgical intervention came too late; Colon remains in a persistent vegetative state, and will require constant care and supervision for the remainder of his life.

"As many other sports have proved, with proper procedures in place, serious injuries like Prichard Colon's can be prevented. Why hasn't boxing followed their lead?" said Ari Casper, founder of The Casper Firm, LLC. "With a proper brain injury protocol and adequate medical attention, these tragedies can and should be avoided in boxing. Prichard's family and I believe it's time to break the silence on something that has caused such significant and irreversible damage to many athletes and families in the boxing community. Our hope is that this is a wakeup call to stop putting promotional dollars above boxer safety. Those profiting at the expense of the boxers' well being need to implement procedures that identify brain injuries, stop fights before it is too late, and prevent tragic injury."

The case has already received national media attention, including a story on ESPN's Outside the Lines. In its coverage, ESPN featured a 2014 statement from former longtime Nevada ringside physician Margaret Goodman in which she stated: "Obviously, if a fighter ever told you they had a headache, they've got to go to the hospital right away. That's the hallmark of a head injury, I mean, until proven otherwise, it's a serious head injury." Likewise, Dr. John Stiller, Chief Phyisican of the Maryland State Athletic Commission, told ESPN's Outside the Lines that the "fight should have been stopped at that moment [referring to the seventh round illegal blow] and I still cannot think of a medically sound reason it wasn't."

The public response from viewers has been overwhelmingly supportive of the Colon family, including comments about the need for fights to be stopped sooner and preventing tragedies like this in the future.

The case was filed by Ari Casper of The Casper Firm, LLC on May 3, 2017. To review the Complaint, visit www.casperfirm.com.

About The Casper Firm, LLC

Founded by Ari Casper, The Casper Firm, LLC is a leading litigation law firm based in Maryland and D.C. dedicated to securing successful outcomes for individuals and businesses across an array of complex litigation matters, with a specialty in brain injury cases. The firm has secured record-setting verdicts and settlements, recovering millions of dollars for clients, by combining big-firm representation with the personalized touch of a small firm. Its founder, Ari Casper, is a former Assistant United States Attorney and nationally recognized litigator who has effectively prosecuted several high-profile cases involving hundreds of millions of dollars. For more information, please visit: www.casperfirm.com.