Greg Brooks Jr.’s Lawsuit Against LSU and Our Lady of the Lake

Greg Brooks Jr.’s lawsuit against LSU alleges that team trainers and coaches ignored serious neurological symptoms for weeks in 2023, then that a neurosurgeon at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center botched the emergency brain tumor surgery that followed, leaving the former team captain permanently disabled. Filed in August 2024 in the 19th Judicial District Court in East Baton Rouge Parish, the case is now moving forward on two tracks: general negligence claims against LSU proceeding in district court, and medical malpractice claims against the hospital and surgeon routed through Louisiana’s mandatory medical review panel.¹

What Happened to Greg Brooks Jr.

Brooks, a safety who transferred to LSU in 2022 and was voted a permanent team captain heading into the 2023 season, began experiencing nausea, dizziness, and headaches during preseason practice in August 2023. On at least one occasion he passed out and vomited in front of coaches and athletic trainers.²

According to the lawsuit, LSU’s head athletic trainer, Owen Stanley, attributed the symptoms to vertigo and cleared Brooks to return to practice. Brooks kept reporting daily symptoms, but the complaint alleges it took 39 days from onset before the team scheduled a neurology appointment.² An MRI on September 13, 2023, revealed a large tumor between his cerebellum and brainstem.³

Two days later, on September 15, 2023, Brooks underwent a craniotomy and excision at Our Lady of the Lake, performed by neurosurgeon Dr. Brandon Gaynor of the NeuroMedical Center.⁴ The tumor was later identified as a medulloblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer that typically occurs in children.³ The lawsuit alleges Brooks suffered multiple strokes during the surgery and developed posterior fossa syndrome, a post-operative condition affecting speech, motor skills, and behavior. He was transferred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in October 2023 and spent nine months there undergoing rehabilitation, chemotherapy, and radiation.

Who Is Being Sued and On What Claims

The Petition for Damages, filed under Case Number 751840, names LSU and its Board of Supervisors; Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center; head coach Brian Kelly; former defensive coordinator Matt House; former safeties coach Kerry Cooks; head athletic trainer Owen Stanley; team doctors Stephen Etheredge and Vincent Shaw; and Dr. Brandon Gaynor.⁵⁶ Brooks is represented by Jeffrey S. Rosenblum of Rosenblum & Reisman P.C. and Kara Samuels of Samuels and Thornton.⁷

Against LSU and Its Staff

The allegations against the university center on gross negligence and disregard of medical protocols. The lawsuit contends coaching staff pressured Brooks to keep practicing while he showed clear neurological symptoms, allegedly threatening his starting position if he refused.⁶ The athletic training staff is accused of misdiagnosing Brooks with vertigo, failing to refer him to team physicians, and letting him keep competing despite his ongoing complaints.⁸

Against Our Lady of the Lake and Dr. Gaynor

The hospital-side claims sound in medical malpractice and negligent credentialing. Brooks alleges Dr. Gaynor lacked the training, education, and experience to perform the surgery, arguing that removing a pediatric-type brain tumor is typically the work of a fellowship-trained pediatric neurosurgeon.⁴ Our Lady of the Lake is separately accused of failing to perform adequate due diligence before granting Dr. Gaynor surgical privileges for such a procedure.¹

Where the Case Stands

The threshold legal fight has been over which claims can go straight to court and which have to be evaluated first by a medical review panel under Louisiana’s Medical Malpractice Act. On May 27, 2025, Judge Tiffany Foxworth-Roberts of the 19th Judicial District Court split the case:

Negligence claims against LSU and Owen Stanley are general negligence, not malpractice, and can proceed directly in district court.¹
The negligent credentialing claim against Our Lady of the Lake also falls outside the Medical Malpractice Act and can proceed in court.¹
The malpractice claims against Dr. Gaynor and the hospital must first go through the medical review panel process.⁹

Discovery on the negligence claims produced a fight over Dr. Gaynor’s surgical history. Brooks’s attorneys subpoenaed records from the NeuroMedical Center to establish whether Dr. Gaynor had previously performed comparable cerebellar surgery. The center argued the records were protected by state peer review laws. On June 16, 2025, Judge Foxworth-Roberts denied a motion to quash and ordered the records produced within 30 days.⁸ On September 8, 2025, after a private meeting with the judge, the parties agreed the records would be turned over to Brooks’s legal team, with the next court date set for November 2025.¹⁰

The case also reached the state’s high court. On February 3, 2026, the Louisiana Supreme Court denied a writ of certiorari in Brooks v. Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, 425 So. 3d 841, docket number 2025-CC-01489. Justice Griffin dissented and would have granted the writ; Justice Penzato was recused.¹¹⁵ The denial left the district court’s split framework intact. No trial date has been set, and the case remains in active litigation.

How Louisiana’s Damages Cap Affects the Case

Louisiana’s Medical Malpractice Act, enacted in 1975, imposes a $500,000 cap on damages in malpractice cases against qualified healthcare providers. The figure has never been adjusted for inflation. Under the system, qualified providers are responsible for the first $100,000 of any malpractice claim, with amounts above that paid by the Patient’s Compensation Fund, a privately funded trust financed by surcharges on enrolled providers.¹² Once the $100,000 limit is paid, the provider’s liability is treated as admitted for purposes of determining additional damages from the Fund.¹³

That cap applies to the malpractice claims against Dr. Gaynor and Our Lady of the Lake. It does not apply to the claims Judge Foxworth-Roberts classified as general negligence against LSU and Owen Stanley, which is why the split ruling matters to what Brooks may ultimately recover.

Brooks’s Condition Today

Doctors have declared Brooks cancer-free after chemotherapy and radiation. The surgical injuries, however, have not resolved. As of mid-2025 he uses a wheelchair, cannot use his right hand, and has considerable difficulty speaking.⁴ He continues daily speech and occupational therapy to relearn basic functions including eating, writing, and speaking.² The lawsuit states he will likely require lifetime care.¹⁴

In a February 2025 Good Morning America appearance, Brooks described waking from the surgery as “a nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from” and said, “I just want to be normal.” His father clarified that his son’s ongoing struggles stem from the surgical injuries rather than the cancer itself.² Head coach Brian Kelly, responding publicly to the family’s criticism, called their account “factually incorrect” and said he and his staff were present at the hospital.¹⁴ Both LSU and Our Lady of the Lake have declined detailed comment on the pending litigation.

1
WAFB. Judge Allows Greg Brooks Jr.’s Lawsuit Against LSU, OLOL to Proceed With Negligence Claims
2
ABC News. Greg Brooks Jr. Speaks on Lawsuit, LSU, and Recovery From Brain Surgery
3
NOLA.com. LSU’s Greg Brooks Has Been Moved to St. Jude’s in Memphis
4
Yahoo Sports. Former LSU Player Greg Brooks Jr. Files Lawsuit Against School, Medical Center
5
CaseMine. Brooks v. Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
6
Healthcare Journal of New Orleans. Behind the Facade of Concussion Protocols: Greg Brooks Jr.’s Lawsuit Lifts the Veil on LSU’s Lack
7
The Advertiser. Greg Brooks Jr. Lawsuit Attorney Says LSU Coach Brian Kelly Is Incorrect
8
LSU Reveille. Former LSU Football Player Greg Brooks Lawsuit Against University Overcomes Another Hurdle
9
Tiger Rag. Former LSU Star Greg Brooks Jr.’s Lawsuit vs. LSU and Hospital Gets Favorable Ruling by Judge
10
WAFB. Greg Brooks Jr. Returns to Court in Lawsuit Against LSU, Our Lady of the Lake
11
Leagle. Brooks v. Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, 425 So. 3d 841
12
Louisiana Division of Administration. Patient’s Compensation Fund
13
Justia. LA Rev Stat § 40:1231.4
14
The Advertiser. LSU Brian Kelly Greg Brooks Jr. GMA Interview: Struck a Nerve