Dave Duerson: Deceased Player's Family Files Wrongful Death Suit Against NFL | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Former Notre Dame and Chicago Bears star Dave Duerson committed suicide over a year ago. Doctors eventually ruled that he had suffered from brain damage caused by concussions.

Duerson's family is placing the blame for that on the NFL.

According to a report from the Associated Press, Duerson's family has filed a wrongful death suit against the NFL, claiming the league failed to warn him of the negative effects of concussions. The lawsuit accuses the NFL of "negligently causing" the brain damage that ultimately led Duerson to take his own life.

If the NFL would have taken the necessary steps to oversee and protect Dave Duerson by warning him of the dangers of head traumas...then (he) would not have suffered dangerous repetitive head trauma, would have recovered more rapidly, and would not have sustained permanent damage to his brain which contributed to his death.

The suit also identifies eight additional players who suffered brain damage during their football careers and eventually committed suicide.

It's been just over a year since Duerson's death. He was found in his home on Feb. 17, 2011 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest. 

Per the AP report, the NFL has not yet seen the lawsuit, and its attorneys have yet to review it.

Concussions have been a hot-button topic in the NFL for several years at this point, and the league has been named in several lawsuits from former players alleging that the league didn't do enough to make them aware of the dangers of concussions.

Upon his death, Duerson's brain was donated for research at Boston University. In May of 2011, researchers revealed that Duerson's brain had developed the same trauma-induced disease found in over 20 deceased NFL players.