Philadelphia Flyers Sued by Two Longtime Trainers Who Developed Severe Medical Conditions

Two trainers for the Philadelphia Flyers have sued the team following cancer diagnoses they allege are the result of exposure to chemicals from the Zamboni machine. On April 12th, Salvatore Raffa and James McCrossin filed suit in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas against 11 defendants, including Comcast and its holding companies, which own the Flyers. They are represented by the Law Firm of Kline & Specter, which litigated an $8 Billion product liability case against Johnson and Johnson in 2019.

Raffa and McCrossin are suing in consortium with their wives. In the complaint, which Crossing Broad first reported, the Plaintiffs accuse the defendants of negligence, strict liability, and loss of consortium. They allege that the Flyers used gasoline or other fuel that contained carcinogens for the Flyers’ Zamboni machine while other comparable devices do not require carcinogen-emitting fuel. Additionally, they allege that the defendants kept the Zamboni in a room with improper ventilation for machinery emitting carcinogens. The Zamboni storage room was near the training room where Raffa and McCrossin primarily work. This proximity, combined with the extensive hours both trainers worked, led to exposure to the carcinogens. According to the allegations, this exposure proximately caused the two trainers to develop rare medical conditions, two of which are incurable.

The Flyers have responded with a statement claiming the allegations are without merit but reserving further comments due to the upcoming litigation. McCrossin began working for the Flyers in 1998, where he served as the Head Athletic Trainer until being promoted to his current role, the Director of Conditioning, in 2014. Salvatore Raffa has worked as an Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Flyers since 2006.

Source: https://www.crossingbroad.com/2022/04/flyers-trainers-sue-comcast-others-after-cancer-diagnoses-allegedly-resulting-from-zamboni-chemicals-in-voorhees-practice-facility.html

Lawrence Kurtz is a first-year law student at Fordham University School of Law. He can be reached by email at [email protected], on Linkedin, or on Twitter @kurtz_lawrence.