By james art 
David Rosenbloom/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Former LSU safety Greg Brooks Jr. filed a negligence lawsuit against the school and its affiliated medical center.
In the lawsuit, filed in East Baton Rouge Parish and obtained by Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, Brooks accused Tigers coaches of threatening to take away his starting job while he was ill and said the team’s coaches failed to properly diagnose his condition and have refused to refer him to a neurologist for weeks.
Brooks also claimed he suffered “catastrophic neurological injuries” and said he was “permanently damaged” by brain surgery he underwent at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge.
LSU’s team captain entering the 2023 season, Brooks experienced dizziness and nausea in early August during the Tigers’ preseason camp. After increased symptoms and tests, Brooks ended up playing two games his senior year before undergoing an MRI that revealed a brain tumor.
Brooks’ family announced that he underwent surgery to remove the table on September 20, 2023. Head coach Brian Kelly said before the September 16 game against Mississippi State that Brooks would not be able to play due to a medical emergency.
In an update posted on LSU’s athletic website on October 4, 2023, it was revealed that Brooks had been diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer known as medulloblastoma.
Kathryn O’Neill, MD, chief medical officer at Our Lady of the Lake Health, said in the update that Brooks’ “speech and ability to communicate have been affected” and he will require “months of intensive rehabilitation.”
According to the lawsuit, Brooks said he suffered “multiple strokes” during the surgery from “abuse.” Dellenger noted that the alleged actions are being examined in a medical review of malpractice claims filed by Brooks’ family.
A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 10 before Judge Tiffany Foxworth-Roberts of the 19th Judicial District Court, East Baton Rouge Parish.
LSU issued Dellenger’s comment on the lawsuit:
“While LSU cannot comment on ongoing litigation, Greg Brooks remains in our thoughts and prayers as he continues to work through his rehabilitation process. Since the beginning of our agreement with our championship health partner, Our Lady of the Lake, they have provided outstanding medical care for our student-athletes in all of our sports.”
In a motion submitted by Brooks’ attorneys to the Department of Administration’s Medical Review Panel, the document states that Brooks “will likely require care for the rest of his life for the injuries he sustained as a result of the abuse of his providers.” and “will likely never be able to work and/or take care of himself without the help of others.”
Dellenger noted that Brooks still can’t walk, use his right arm and has “significant difficulty speaking” more than a year after the surgery due to a condition known as posterior fossa syndrome, which can occur in some patients after surgery. procedure.
According to Dellenger, Brooks recently underwent a procedure at a hospital in Memphis and previously spent nine months in “prolonged hospitalization, rehabilitation and recovery” following his initial procedure.
Brooks had a five-year college career from 2019 to ’23. He played his first three seasons at Arkansas before transferring to LSU prior to the 2022 campaign. The Louisiana native appeared in all 14 games in his first year with the program