Former LSU player Greg Brooks Jr. files lawsuit against school, medical center for negligence that led to emergency brain surgery

Greg Brooks Jr., the former LSU football player and team captain whose career ended after the discovery of a brain tumor last fall, is suing the school and its affiliated medical center for negligence. Brooks is accusing coaches of inaction and athletic trainers of misdiagnosis as well as levying claims against the surgeon who operated on him.

The 13-page lawsuit, filed in August in East Baton Rouge Parish and obtained on Thursday by Yahoo Sports, unearths unreported details of the timeline of events last year related to Brooks’ unexpected turn of events — from a star safety in the SEC with NFL aspirations to a now “permanently disabled” man who still, a year after surgery, cannot walk.

The suit details the start of Brooks’ symptoms while at football practice last August to his emergency brain surgery in September — a story that gripped the country last year. He participated in two games before an MRI scan discovered the brain tumor.

In the legal filing, Brooks accuses the coaching staff of encouraging him to practice and play while ill by threatening his starting position, and he levies claims against team trainers for not appropriately diagnosing his condition and refusing, for weeks, to recommend him to a neurological specialist.

In the most serious accusations, Brooks alleges that he was left with “catastrophic neurological injuries” and is “permanently disabled” from the brain surgery performed by Brandon Gaynor, a surgeon at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge. During the surgery, Brooks says he suffered “multiple strokes” from “acts of malpractice.” Those alleged acts are being addressed in a medical review of malpractice claims the family has filed.

Along with Gaynor, the lawsuit names and holds partially responsible several LSU coaching and training staff members as well as medical center doctors. The list includes head coach Brian Kelly, then-defensive coordinator Matt House, then-safeties coach Kerry Cooks, head athletic trainer Owen Stanley and team doctors Stephen Etheredge and Vincent Shaw.

Both LSU and Our Lady of the Lake released statements to Yahoo Sports when reached this week.

“First, and foremost, our prayers remain with Greg for his continued healing and recovery. Due to patient privacy laws and pending litigation, we can’t comment on specific individuals or situations,” a statement from the hospital said. “The neurosurgical team at Our Lady of the Lake is among the most experienced in Louisiana and they give our patients the best opportunity for a positive outcome in any circumstance. Providing excellent healthcare to those we serve is our top priority.”

The school wrote, “While LSU cannot comment on ongoing litigation, Greg Brooks remains in our thoughts and prayers as he continues to work through the rehabilitation process. Since the beginning of our agreement with our Championship Health Partner, Our Lady of the Lake, they have provided exceptional medical care for our student-athletes in all of our sports.”

Brooks and his family did not respond to a request for comment.

A year after surgery, Brooks cannot walk, cannot use his right hand and has considerable difficulty speaking, according to a request that his attorneys sent to the Division of Administration’s Medical Review Panel.

“Greg will likely need care for the rest of his life for the injuries he sustained as a result of his providers’ malpractice,” the document says. “Obviously, Greg will also never be able to play football again and he will likely never be able to work and/or care for himself without the assistance of others.”

Brooks developed from the surgery a condition known as “posterior fossa syndrome,” a post-operative issue occurring in some patients with a range of symptoms that include impacts on speech, motor skills and behavior. His neurological injuries are a “direct result of these neurosurgeons’ malpractice,” the complaint says.

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Brooks was eventually transferred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis last October and suffered through “protracted hospitalization, rehabilitation and recovery” that lasted nine months. He recently spent several more days at the Memphis hospital for a procedure.

In the lawsuit, Brooks also accuses LSU of disclosing confidential medical information that was “false and misleading;” using his name, image and likeness without his consent; and refusing to transfer ownership to him of a donation fund in his name through the LSU Tiger Athletic Foundation. An NCAA policy does exist requiring documentation of qualifying medical expenses for distribution purposes of such funds. LSU did not address the fund in its statement.

Brooks, a native of Harvey, Louisiana, just outside of New Orleans, was a three-year starter at safety for Arkansas before transferring to LSU in 2022. In his first season with the Tigers, he ranked fifth on the team in tackles, started 13 games and recorded a game-securing interception in a win against Auburn.

Last August, before the start of his fifth-year senior season, he was voted a permanent team captain and entered the season as an NFL Draft prospect.

However, on Aug. 5, during the first week of LSU’s preseason camp, Brooks experienced symptoms of nausea and dizziness and vomited at practice. He was treated with Zofran for the nausea and was cleared to return to practice. Two days later, on Aug. 7, Brooks’ symptoms increased. LSU athletic trainers cleared Brooks of a concussion after using an electronic app on an iPad called “C3 Logix,” the complaint says. On Aug. 11, Brooks experienced more symptoms during a “rolling drill” while at practice. He was treated for “vertigo.”

Symptoms persisted over the next several weeks as the Tigers prepared for the season opener against Florida State in Orlando. Brooks was given the option to not participate in practice but was “simultaneously told by the coaching staff that if he chose to sit out, someone else would take his place, such that he may lose his starting position,” the lawsuit says.

He played the majority of LSU’s first two games against Florida State and Grambling. On Sept. 13, 39 days after Brooks experienced his first symptoms, athletic trainers scheduled for him to be examined by a neurologist, when the MRI was conducted.

Athletic trainers then communicated the results to Brooks and made arrangements that same day for emergency surgery at the LSU-affiliated Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center. The medical center “hand-picked” Gaynor as his surgeon and “never explained” to Brooks or his parents that they could explore other treatment options, the complaint notes.

The lawsuit alleges that Gaynor “lacked the appropriate training, education, and/or experience to perform the procedure.” To remove this type of brain tumor requires craniotomy and excision and is routinely performed by “fellowship-trained pediatric neurosurgeons,” the complaint says.

Entering surgery, Gaynor told Brooks that he likely would be able to eat dinner that very night and that the “worst-case scenario” would be that he would have difficulty swallowing and talking for a few months, a letter to the medical review panel says.

Brooks’ tumor was determined after surgery to be a “pediatric tumor,” normally a cancerous growth that occurs in children. Pediatric tumors, however, can appear in adults. In general, cancerous brain tumors can be difficult to detect as they are slow growing and can be “asymptomatic” — producing no symptoms — until the advanced stage, according to medical journals.

The Commission on Cancer Accreditation has for years accredited Our Lady of the Lake for cancer removal procedures. The accreditation is normally determined through a hospital’s rate of successful surgeries. The surgeon in the crosshairs of the lawsuit, Gaynor, was certified for neurological surgery by the American Board of Neurological Surgery in 2018, according to his biography on the Our Lady of the Lake website.

In a continuation of its statement, the hospital wrote, “as LSU’s Championship Health Partner, Our Lady of the Lake is leading the team of healthcare professionals who care for LSU athletes. The team of sports medicine physicians, cardiologists, neurologists, and other specialists work together with the LSU athletic department to ensure student athletes receive comprehensive care of the highest standard.”

In the aftermath of Brooks’ surgery, LSU honored him by playing a game against Arkansas last year wearing helmet decals with the No. 3, his jersey number. A few weeks later, the school honored Gaynor during halftime of the LSU-Florida game for his “heroic” efforts treating Brooks — something the lawsuit condemns. The actions “further exacerbated Greg’s considerable emotional distress,” the lawsuit says.

A hearing has been scheduled before Judge Tiffany Foxworth-Roberts on Feb. 10. In the most recent filing on Oct. 7, Brooks’ attorneys requested a subpoena for LSU, its board of supervisors and the Louisiana office of the commissioner of the administration.

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