Jurevicius sues Browns over infection
Former Cleveland Browns receiver Joe Jurevicius sued the team and the Cleveland Clinic yesterday, saying the team misrepresented the cleanliness of its training facility and blaming doctors with negligence over a staph infection in his right knee that kept him from playing last year.
The lawsuit alleges that physicians Anthony Miniaci and Richard Figler failed to warn Jurevicius that therapy equipment was not always sanitized at the team's training facility in suburban Berea.
The filing was first reported by the the Cleveland Plain Dealer on its Web site.
An NFL physicians survey of the 32 clubs determined there were 33 MRSA staph infections leaguewide from 2006-08. The Browns had at least six players stricken with some sort of staph infection in recent years.
Jurevicius has said he contracted staph following arthroscopic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in January 2008. As a result, the lawsuit said, "Jurevicius may never be able to play professional football again." He was released by the club in March.
Fred Nance, an attorney for the Browns, said that the lawsuit is being reviewed but that the Browns deny its allegations. He said the team's facilities are compliant with all NFL requirements.
Erinne Dyer, speaking on behalf of the Clinic and the doctors, said there would be no comment on pending litigation.
In 11 seasons with the New York Giants, Tampa Bay, Seattle and Cleveland, Jurevicius had 323 receptions for 4,119 yards and 29 TDs.
Noteworthy
* NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has started his review of the Plaxico Burress shooting incident under the league's personal conduct policy. Burress shot himself in the thigh in late November in a New York City nightclub. *
