Alum discusses role in NFL concussion lawsuit

Political Science alum and Mercer Law graduate Shaun O’Hara ’07 paid a visit to campus in February to share his insights on the NFL concussion lawsuit he took part in as a member of one of the legal teams representing former professional football athletes.

“I took the bar exam in July 2011, and then the firm I was working with asked me to draft a lawsuit for our client, a retired NFL player with complications from repeated head injuries,” O’Hara said. “Our cases ended up in Pennsylvania, where the nationwide NFL lawsuits were consolidated.”

The NFL agreed to settlements on a local scale in 2015.

“Our lawsuit brought more awareness to the issues, and the NFL is safer because of it,” he said.

O’Hara currently works at Columbus-based Charles A. Gower P.C. where he has tried several meaningful cases, including one in Muscogee County State Court against the owners of the Ralston Towers, which resulted in a verdict in excess of $100 million.