The medical negligence lawsuit brought by former LSU football Greg Brooks Jr. against the university overcame another hurdle Monday when the 19th Judicial Court Judge declined a motion to quash a subpoena brought against the NeuroMedical Center.
Brooks brought the lawsuit in August against LSU and Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center, LSU Athletics’ sports medicine partner, after the surgery he received for a brain tumor in September 2023 left him permanently disabled.
The NeuroMedical Center, located in the Baton Rouge area, is not a party to the lawsuit but is the place of practice of Dr. Brandon Gaynor, the surgeon who oversaw Brooks’ procedure at OLOL. The subpoena is related to records of his qualifications.
Judge Tiffany Foxworth-Roberts ordered the records be produced within 30 days.
Brooks Jr. and his father were present at the hearing.
The NeuroMedical Center argued that the records were unrelated to the case and they could be obtained through other means. Its stance was overruled.
The lawsuit will continue on, with the next hearings scheduled Sept. 2 and Sept. 8.
On Sept. 2, the Court will review the documents produced by the NeuroMedical Center and determine which are admissible. On Sept. 8, the Court will consider a motion to compel OLOL to produce certain records.
The lawsuit’s background
Brooks is still wheelchair-bound and re-learning how to talk, write and eat, according to what he and his father said in a “Good Morning America” segment in February.
Brooks also alleged on GMA that LSU head coach Brian Kelly hadn’t contacted him or his family since October 2023, which Kelly impassionately denied at a press conference shortly after. It’s been one of the most publicly contested points of the dispute.
“It is factually incorrect to state that I was not there by Greg’s side through this ordeal,” Kelly said. “I was there on multiple occasions. We had somebody from my staff that was there virtually every day.”
Brooks was diagnosed with a brain tumor in September 2023 shortly after beginning his second season with LSU football as a starting safety and captain. He had previously played two years with Arkansas.
Brooks alleges that LSU’s athletic training staff failed to properly treat him in the weeks before his diagnosis, as he was consistently suffering from clear neurological symptoms like dizziness, headache and nausea. Instead, the training staff made diagnoses like vertigo without having Brooks see team doctors and had him continue competing, according to the lawsuit.
Then, during his surgery, Brooks suffered multiple seizures due to mistakes made by Gaynor, Brooks alleges.
After Brooks’ procedure, LSU raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Brooks via the Greg Brooks Jr. Victory Fund and put in place honorary field markings and helmet decals of his No. 3 jersey during the 2023 season.
The lawsuit alleges that Brooks has not yet been given access to the money raised by LSU.
