On Friday a federal judge dismissed two wrongful death lawsuits against the WWE. The lawsuits stemmed from the families of two former WWE wrestlers that believed their deaths were caused by traumatic brain injuries they suffered while working for the company.
The families of Nelson Frazier (Mabel, Viscera and Big Daddy V) and Matt Osborne (Doink The Clown) alleged in their lawsuits that the WWE were negligent and caused both Frazier and Osborne to suffer from CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) prior to their deaths. According to U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant, the families were unable to prove that fact during arguments.
Via ComicBook.com, Bryant determined Osborne’s death on June 2013 was accidental and linked to the use of an opiate. As for Frazier, who weighed 500 pounds while active in WWE, suffered a heart attack linked to obesity and diabetes before dying eight months later.
"It is impossible to plausibly allege, much less prove that either wrestler had CTE," and it is "rank speculation" to say WWE's is responsible for the deaths, Bryant wrote via Comic Book.com.
But the families of Frazier and Osborne aren’t giving up just yet. Lawyer Konstantine Kyros is representing the families and announced the families may appeal, believing the deaths were the "consequences of an abusive and exploitative culture within the WWE."
There are numerous lawsuits that are still pending against the WWE– former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro also joined multiple former wrestlers in a lawsuit this week against the WWE for the long-term head injuries sustained during their time in the sport.
According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, Massaro also stated that she was sexually assaulted on a military base in 2006 during a WWE trip. Masaro claims that the WWE convinced her to keep the incident quiet.
“Upon her return to the United States , she was seen by Dr. Rios, who interviewed her about the incident,” stated the legal document Massaro filed this week. “Dr. Rios reported the incident to WWE executives who soon thereafter met with Massaro to apologize for their negligence but persuaded her that it would be best not to report it to appropriate authorities.”
“This incredible situation derives from the WWE’s employment misclassification scheme wherein the WWE (deems itself) neither responsible for Massaro’s safety (despite being on a WWE tour in the Middle East ) nor does the WWE deem itself responsible to report or collect data about incidents such as this,” the document continued. “The WWE, in order to protect its public image and insulate itself from paying for its injured workers, prefers to remain silent.”
Massaro’s claims add intrigue not only to the head injury lawsuit, but for a possible civil case against the company down the line for Massaro. Many of these types of lawsuits are dismissed, but if the term “negligence” continues to be mentioned in many of these cases, the WWE could be facing a major issue down the line with more and more wrestlers joining the different lawsuits that are outstanding.
For more, please read the documents filed by Ashley Massaro at the link here.
