Browns and ex-player Joe Jurevicius settle lawsuit over staph infection

Browns, ex-player settle suit over staph infection

CLEVELAND — A settlement has been reached in the lawsuit over a staph infection that benched former Cleveland Browns receiver Joe Jurevicius.

The terms of the settlement will be kept confidential, Fred Nance, the attorney for the team, said Tuesday.

Jurevicius sued the Browns and the Cleveland Clinic last year, saying the team misrepresented the cleanliness of its training facility. He blamed doctors with negligence over the 2008 staph infection in his right knee.

Last year an NFL physicians survey of the 32 clubs determined there were 33 MRSA staph infections leaguewide from 2006-08. The Browns had at least six players stricken with some sort of staph infection in recent years.

Nance said the Browns have strong cleanliness practices.

“I don’t think there’s any question about the quality of the Browns’ sanitation and hygiene practices. They have been and continue to be at the highest state-of-the-art level in the league,” he said.

There was no immediate comment from Jurevicius, who doesn’t have a phone listing for the address in court records. A message seeking comment was left for his attorney.

The clinic said it would defer to Nance for comment.

The docket for Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John J. Russo, who was handling the case, said attorneys informed the court last week that a settlement had been reached. The judge dismissed pending motions as moot.

Two months ago a federal judge ruled that six of Jurevicius’ eight claims should be decided in Cuyahoga County court. The Browns had argued that the claims should be handled through the NFL’s arbitration process.

Jurevicius was released by the Browns in March 2009.

In 11 seasons with the New York Giants, Tampa Bay, Seattle and Cleveland, Jurevicius had 323 receptions for 4,119 yards and 29 TDs. He set career highs with 55 receptions and 10 TDs for the Seahawks in 2005.

The lawsuit asked for damages totaling more than $25,000, plus unspecified punitive damages.