Edwardsville firm TorHoerman Law filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of New Jersey on behalf of the estate of an Olympic bobsledder who committed suicide in 2020 after allegedly suffering from “sled head.”
Team USA Olympic bobsledder Pavle Jovanovic, or Pauly, of Toms River, N.J., died on May 3, 2020, at 43 years old, after allegedly developing traumatic brain injuries, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The suit states that Dr. Anne McKee confirmed the diagnosis on her official neuropathy report on March 17, 2021, following a brain biopsy.
“Pauly is the first former Olympic bobsledder to be posthumously diagnosed with CTE,” the suit states.
Prior to his death, Jovanovic was allegedly experiencing constant shakes and tremors, violent and erratic outbursts, headaches, mass confusion, loss of cognition, and depression. He allegedly coped with the symptoms by turning to alcohol “but it did nothing to mask the significant buildup of p-tau neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and diffuse plaques in his brain.”
“He was competing against an opponent that does not lose,” the suit states.
According to the complaint, Jovanovic rigged a chain to a crane that he and his brother Nicholas Jovanovic designed and built for their family-owned metal works business and hung himself.
“Pauly had a career that spanned 14 years proudly representing the United States of America and Serbia. He won nine gold medals, eight silver medals and two bronze medals across 28 events in 14 BMW IBSF World Cups,” the suit states. “He qualified for the 2002 and 2006 Olympics, coming in seventh in both the two-man and four-man bobsled in Turin. He dedicated his life [to] Olympic Bobsled, and at one time, he was the top ‘brakeman’ in the world.”
The 136-page suit is the first of its kind filed on behalf of an individual against the United States Olympic Committee, the United States Bobsled & Skeleton, the International Olympic Committee, and the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation.
The suit accuses the defendants of negligence, negligent misrepresentation and wrongful death. Plaintiff Nicholas Jovanovic, as administrator of the estate of Pavle Jovanovic, seeks unspecified damages.
The lawsuit was filed through Edwardsville attorneys Tor Hoerman, Eric Terry, Ken Brennan and Eric Cracken in conjunction with attorneys Robert Dassow of Hovde Dassow + Deets in Indianapolis and Andrew D’Arcy and Peter Smith of D’Arcy Johnson Day PC in New Jersey.
“TorHoerman Law and the Jovanovic family believe this lawsuit is the tip of the iceberg,” Hoerman stated. “We hope it will be a platform for awareness on the alleged issue and of courage for other current and former athletes to come forward and join the fight for accountability, change, and transparency from the defendants. It’s time the deadly consequences of this sport alleged in this lawsuit are brought out of the dark.”
According to the complaint, the defendants allegedly failed to protect American bobsled athletes from suffering traumatic brain injuries during their bobsled runs.
During Jovanovic’s career from 1997 to 2008, the suit states that he took thousands of runs down the bobsled tracks. Each run allegedly subjected him to concussive and subconcussive impacts, constant and severe jarring and vibrations and high-g forces, which cause “sled head.”
The lawsuit states that “sled head” is a term used by athletes and trainers to refer to instances when athletes experience confusion, problems with immediate recall, disorientation to time, place and person, anterograde and retrograde amnesia, fatigue, blurred vision, brain fog, and difficulty communicating after a run down the bobsled course.
“Sled head” has been attributed to the sport since the 1980s. The suit states that the defendants failed to warn Jovanovic and protect him from the symptoms and effects of “sled head” despite published medical science on the issue.
Published articles date back to the 1960s and discuss the intersection of concussions and sport, warning of the traumatic brain injuries that athletes can suffer when exposed to various forms of brain trauma.
According to the complaint, five North American Olympic bobsledders have attempted suicide since 2013. Four of those five, including Jovanovic, have succeeded.
The suit states that most athletes with CTE never know they have it, which can only be diagnosed posthumously.
“CTE can be a lonely walk towards destroyed relationships, substance abuse, severe depression and eventually death. The rapid and dramatic decline in the person’s behavior and cognitive ability can lead to ostracism amongst friends and family, and the disease’s invisibility and anonymity can cause the person to feel misunderstood and alone,” the suit states.
Jovanovic’s story
Jovanovic was a three-year letterman, team captain, and an All-Shore and All-County linebacker with the Toms River High School East football team. He was later inducted into the Toms River School’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
In the summer of 1997, Jovanovic was working as a bouncer at a bar on the Jersey Shore. A scout for the US Olympic team had set up a portable push-track on the boardwalk, which is a simulator for pushing a bobsled. The recruiter convinced Jovanovic to take a break from his job and try the sled. Without any training, Jovanovic impressed the recruiter and was invited to try out for the USABS team.
“He made the team, and the rest is history,” the suit states.
“Over the course of his 12-year career, Pauly became a pillar in the United States bobsled organization,” it continues. “He was regarded as a relentless leader demanding constant effort. Pauly was relentless in his work ethic to push further, train harder, be better prepared, and do so with the specific intention of making the team better. Pauly was a selfless leader; he cared only about the team. Everything he did was for the whole, never for himself.”
Following his bobsled career, Jovanovic returned to Rutgers University to complete his degree in civil engineering, where he made the Dean’s List. He then started working with his brother at his metal works business.
After competing in the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, Jovanovic experienced exhaustion that never dissipated.
Then in 2008, he “began to exhibit signs of cognitive impairment, frequently appearing confused and disorganized.” He also developed a short temper and became angry. By 2009, he developed a severe sensitivity to light, began wearing bizarre outfits and colored his hair, the suit states. He also began speaking in different languages and accents that were not native to him.
His battle with alcohol abuse began in 2010 as he became distant from his family. While Jovanovic had previously been conscientious and responsible with his finances, he later became financially impulsive. In 2011, he sold his cars, his grandmother’s jewelry, his Olympic ring, and anything else of value that he could find.
Jovanovic traveled to Serbia in 2012 to join the Serbian bobsled team but was dismissed a few months later due to misconduct.
Jovanovic frequented psychiatric facilities for evaluation and treatment, where physicians tried to identify the source of his “erratic and unusual behaviors.” He was prescribed several medications, which did not help.
“There is no medication for CTE,” the suit states.
Case number OCN-L-409022