The family of a severely injured Russian heavyweight boxer filed a lawsuit against multiple parties this week, which included five New York State Athletic Commission doctors. Magomed Abdusalamov's family alleged recklessness, gross negligence and medical malpractice, as reported in an ESPN's "Outside the Lines' program.
Abdusalamov was forced to retire from boxing after his most recent fight against Mike Perez on November 2, 2013 in New York where he suffered a severe brain injury in the bout, which Perez won by a unanimous decision.
Parties "named in the lawsuit include the referee, the commission's inspector, Madison Square Garden and K2 Promotions."
After the fight, Abdusalamov was brought by taxi from the Theater at Madison Square Garden to Mt. Sinai Roosevelt Hospital, about a mile away. An ambulance was not called.
ESPN reported that "he underwent life-saving surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain nearly three hours after his fight ended, but the native of the Republic of Dagestan suffered multiple strokes and was in a coma for weeks."
Dr. Rupendra Swarup, the medical director of Mt. Sinai Roosevelt's department of neurosurgery, has said that he regained slight movement and can follow simple commands but may never walk nor talk again.
Also, "the doctors advised him to get his injuries looked at in a day or two," according to reports.
"The suit names doctors Barry Jordan, the commission's chief medical officer; Avery Browne; Anthony Curreri; Osric King; and Gerard Varlotta," as reported by ESPN.
"These doctors screwed up beyond belief. Not giving him proper post-fight medical attention was reckless and egregious; not stopping the fight was negligent," Paul Edelstein, the family attorney, told "Outside the Lines" on Wednesday.
Abdusalamov was struck with 312 blows by Perez, and the left side of his face became "disfigured and bloody."
Abdusalamov was transported on Thursday from a rehabilitation facility back to Mt. Sinai Roosevelt to undergo additional surgery; "this time to install a shunt in his head to regulate the flow of cerebral fluid."
"I would have preferred to also sue the athletic commission directly, but I'm not allowed to," added Edelstein.
"It is immune [under the legislation that created it], but its employees, including the doctors, are not. If responsibility on the part of the commission doctors is found, the state's taxpayers would pay the bill, and that is horrendous," he added.
