Rothman doctors shouldn’t pay in $43.5 million verdict for former Eagles captain, lawyers tell appeals court

The four Rothman physicians who rehabilitated former Eagles special teams captain Chris Maragos for a 2017 knee injury were merely following the guidance of an acclaimed NFL surgeon, and the orthopedic institute should not be forced to pay out its portion of a whopping $43.5 million medical malpractice verdict, Rothman’s lawyer argued Tuesday.

Attorney John J. Hare implored a three-judge panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania to find that a Philadelphia jury had erred in finding Rothman Orthopaedic Institute medically negligent, saying that the onetime Eagles physicians were put in a no-win situation.

Following the 2023 star-studded two-week trial, which played out in a Philadelphia City Hall courtroom during the Eagles’ run-up to Super Bowl LVII, the jury awarded Maragos $43.5 million in damages, determining that doctors had exhibited “medical negligence” in opting to ignore damage to the player’s meniscus while he was recovering from another knee surgery.

» READ MORE: A Philly jury has awarded $43.5 million to a former Eagles captain suing his doctors over a career-ending knee injury

But while rehabilitating Maragos at the NovaCare Center in summer 2018, Rothman’s doctors, Hare argued, were following the direction of Pittsburgh-based orthopedic surgeon James Bradley. Bradley had operated on the safety’s knee but opted against work on his meniscus — and Maragos’ attorneys had failed to prove where, exactly, each physician had individually failed, Hare said.

Hare contended that, according to Maragos’ argument, the Rothman doctors would have been in the wrong in any scenario, either performing “un-consented surgery” on Maragos when Bradley was his surgeon, or continuing to push the All-Pro special teamer during rehabilitation.

But Dion Rassias, Maragos’ attorney, told the panel the negligence was clear: The Eagles doctors should not have continued to allow the team captain to run up to 19 miles per hour on dry land and weight lift while his knee was “fried.”

“You cannot have an athlete, a racehorse, running and training on a torn, extruded meniscus and expect he survives that,” Rassias countered.

During the trial — which featured testimony from legendary former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, his “Philly Special” counterpart Trey Burton, and linebacker Jordan Hicks — Maragos testified that he had trusted his doctors, and pushed through discomfort during rehabilitation in hopes of playing again. “I thought it was normal,” he said of the excruciating knee pain.

Ultimately, the jury took less than three hours to decide Maragos’ doctors were liable, deciding Bradley should pay roughly $29.2 million and Rothman around $14.3 million. When damages were added, Rothman’s total increased to $15.8 million.

» READ MORE: Nick Foles and other 2018 Super Bowl champs testify in Philly court for ex-Eagles captain suing his doctors

An economics expert told jurors that the Maragos lost close to $8.7 million in earnings by retiring nearly two years after his knee injury and not being able to finish out his career — a number Hare stressed to the appellate judges was five times less than the jury’s “remarkable” verdict, awarded the morning after the Eagles’ heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Lawyers for Maragos alleged doctors who treated the player’s torn posterior cruciate ligament following an injury during the Eagles’ 2017-2018 Super Bowl season ignored damage to his meniscus, leading to an untimely end to his football career and causing lifelong knee issues.

» READ MORE: A former Eagles captain is suing his doctors in Philly court over a career-ending knee injury. Here's what you should know.

But attorneys for Bradley and Rothman argued that the doctors were aware of Maragos’ meniscus, and had determined that surgery would have caused more harm than good.

Furthermore, the damage to the meniscus, lawyers for the doctors contended, was caused in a separate instance in the weight room months after the initial injury. And they argued that when Maragos injured his PCL, he had already had an eight-year career in the NFL — more than double the average league career of 3.3 years. The doctors said they did all they could to extend the then 31-year-old’s professional career. After doctors told him he would never play again, Maragos retired from the NFL in 2019, and a short time later, filed the lawsuit.

Bradley — a widely respected surgeon well-known for his work with NFL athletes, including former Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger — told the jury if he believed the player needed a second operation, that he would have done it in “a heartbeat.”

Bradley, who was also the Steelers’ team doctor for more than 30 years, has since resolved his claims with Maragos, Rassias said. Bradley’s attorney, John Conti, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

More than a year later, the jury’s eye-popping verdict continues to plague Rothman.

Earlier this month, the private orthopedic group ended its decades-long partnership with the Eagles, citing the risk of such verdicts. Since the Maragos trial, juries in the city have awarded more large medical malpractice verdicts, and a new rule allows more cases to be filed in Philly’s Court of Common Pleas — a practice experts warn may have a chilling effect on private medical groups partnering with professional sports teams.

» READ MORE: Rothman Institute is ending its Eagles partnership as the official team doctors because of malpractice risk

Because Rothman — whose insurance covers only $1 million in malpractice cases — was sued as a company, all partner physicians in the practice need to share the cost of the bulk of the damages, which could jump to $18 million if it loses the appeal.

After an episode of legal wrangling — in which Maragos’ attorneys called for a freeze on Rothman’s finances until the group began to make good on its payments — the two sides reached a deal in April for Rothman to deposit $8 million into an account, adding $1 million each month until it reaches the $15.8 million judgment total. If the appeals court rules in Maragos’ favor, the money will be made available to the him following the judges’ opinion, though a timeline for the decision is unknown.

Maragos, 37, who now lives in Michigan, was not present for Tuesday’s hearing. But his attorney insisted that the three-time All Pro player deserved every cent of the Philadelphia jury’s award.

“Chris Maragos was a deity in this town,” Rassias told the judges. “He told this jury what it was like to wake up in this town, with that pedigree, and what he felt.”