Reggie Bush awarded $12.5 million from Rams
![01 November 2015: San Francisco 49ers Running Back Reggie Bush (23) [7728] is carted off due to getting injured after returning a kickoff and slipping on a section of cement in action during a game between the San Francisco 49ers and the St. Louis Rams at Edward Jones Dome, in St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire) (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F9b156881850e9c75c0429d9d72a06f4b4766d60add297f6b4881739267cd482c.jpg "01 November 2015: San Francisco 49ers Running Back Reggie Bush (23) [7728] is carted off due to getting injured after returning a kickoff and slipping on a section of cement in action during a game between the San Francisco 49ers and the St. Louis Rams at Edward Jones Dome, in St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire) (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images)")
A jury has awarded former NFL running back Reggie Bush $12.5 million for an injury settlement dating back to his torn ACL in 2015 that effectively ended his career.
Injuries are a regular occurrence in the NFL. Rarely, though, do they happen on the sidelines, and that’s what happened to Reggie Bush in 2015. When he slipped on a slab of concrete, he tore his ACL and ended his season. He would sign with the Buffalo Bills as a free agent but only get 12 carries in 2016, and that injury would effectively be the end of his NFL career.
He sued the then-St. Louis Rams, and the owners and operators of their stadium sighting negligence for allowing this. According to Pro Football Talk, his lawyers arguments was as follows:
"“Reggie lost his ability to do what he loved, and to bargain for a contract that he worked his entire life for,” Bush’s lawyer Tim Cronin said during closing statements. “These players get chewed up. They only have so many chances.”"
The jury agreed with Cronin. They awarded Bush $4.5 million in compensatory damages and $7.5 million in punitive damages.
Next: Best NFL player from each state
The concrete slab was called the “concrete ring of death,” because Bush’s injury wasn’t the first. After Bush’s injury, though, they put up padding to prevent things like what happened to Bush. Josh McCown was injured earlier that season as well.
The owners of the stadium wouldn’t had to feel they needing to put up the padding if not for the injuries to Bush and McCown. It seems the jury was correct in ordering the damages, and it was clear there was a problem. Justice was served.