The Eagles didn't win the Super Bowl on Sunday, but one of their former Super Bowl champions was victorious a day later. Weeks after kicking off testimony in his civil lawsuit against former doctors, retired safety and special teamer Chris Maragos was awarded $43.5 million in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court on Monday. With three former teammates, including Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles, taking the stand on his behalf, Maragos successfully argued his career was cut short by "medical negligence."
Maragos, 36, was a pivotal member of the Eagles' coverage units from 2014-2017, landing two contracts with the club in his first three seasons. He suffered a PCL tear in Philadelphia's Week 6 game against the Panthers during the Super Bowl season, however, and never played another down in the NFL. Maragos alleged in his civil suit, filed this year, that doctors overseeing his ensuing surgery and rehabilitation neglected to address a meniscus issue that was also present, and prematurely permitted running exercises that further damaged his knee.
Maragos reluctantly retired in 2019, after spending all of the 2018 season on the physically unable to perform list, as a result of the medical blunders, his suit alleged. The veteran's accusations specifically targeted Dr. James P. Bradley, a renowned NFL-partnered orthopedic surgeon; and Rothman Orthopaedic Institute Orthopedics, a current partner of the Eagles. Bradley, who also works as the Steelers' team orthopedic surgeon, is known for operating on a number of big names, including former Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz and longtime Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger.
A jury is responsible for awarding Maragos $43.5M in the case, per Big Trial, and the former Eagle was seen shedding tears in court after the decision. Foles was joined by fellow former Eagles Trey Burton and Jordan Hicks, other members of the team's 2017 title-winning roster, as a key witness in the trial. Hicks also missed significant time due to injury in 2017.
The Eagles notably revamped their in-house medical staff at different points between 2018-2020. Their Super Bowl run was defined in part by the team enduring such a rash of severe injuries to key contributors, including Wentz, Hicks and Maragos.
