A pro football player alleged that a minor leg bruise sustained during a 2002 preseason game became seriously infected after the team physician treated him in the unsterile conditions of the team's locker room. The player also alleged the team physician let him back on the field too early, exacerbating his infection and forcing him into early retirement. He sued the physician and, in the end, the case apparently reached a confidential settlement.
Jeff Novak, an offensive lineman with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 1990s, bruised his leg in practice and sought treatment from orthopedic surgeon R. Stephen Lucie, MD. Dr. Lucie said he treated Mr. Novak in the team's locker room area, making an incision and draining the wound. Asked by sports network ESPN if the treatment area had been sterile, Dr. Lucie said it was "designed to do similar surgical procedures as physicians all over the country do in their offices or in emergency rooms."
Mr. Novak said Dr. Lucie left a 1-inch hole in the wound so that it could heal naturally. He initially advised him to stay inactive, but cleared him to return to the field 2 days later. Dr. Lucie denied a claim, made by Mr. Novak and a fellow player, that he was under pressure by the Jaguars' coach to get him playing as soon as possible. "If we'd have thought that, for sure, sending him back out there, it was going to make [his wound] worse, we would have obviously never sent him back out there," said Dr. Lucie.
He added, "I think the ultimate responsibility for the player going on the field is the player's. He knows his body best." However, Mr. Novak said it would have been difficult to remain off the field once the team physician allowed him to return. Back on the field, he said, his socks were soaked with blood every day. On the team bus after a game, a teammate noticed a pool of blood at his feet. Teammates also confirmed seeing Mr. Novak dumping blood out of a cowboy boot onto the ground.
Dr. Lucie authorized emergency surgery to staple the wound shut. A month later, when little black dots appeared around the wound, Mr. Novak consulted a physician not connected with the team, who diagnosed E. coli and staph infections in the wound. The festering injuries required the wearing of circulatory stockings. Mr. Novak later suffered a back injury which forced him to take time off from playing, but when he announced his retirement shortly afterwards, he blamed his leg wound.
Mr. Novak sued the team physician, alleging the doctor used unsterile equipment on him and failed to meet the proper standard of care. The trial included testimony from several teammates and the Jaguars' coach. While Mr. Novak won a jury verdict of $5.3 million, the judge overturned it 12 days later, concluding that he hadn't proven Dr. Lucie's negligence. Since Mr. Novak did not appeal the decision, it is believed that he reached a confidential settlement with the physician. Neither side offered any public comments following the case's conclusion.
Some observers have said that this case could encourage future malpractice claims by professional athletes against their team doctors.
Leigh Page
