Tyrod Taylor sues Los Angeles Chargers team doctor for medical malpractice, seeks at least $5 million after 2020 punctured lung

The Los Angeles Chargers doctor who is caring for Justin Herbert's fractured rib cartilage is being sued for medical malpractice by former Chargers quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who is seeking at least $5 million after suffering a punctured lung while being treated for a rib injury in 2020, according to copies of the original lawsuit and subsequent filings related to the case obtained by ESPN.

Taylor, who now plays for the New York Giants, is suing Chargers team doctor David S. Gazzaniga and the Newport Orthopedic Institute that he runs, according to the lawsuit.

The trial originally was scheduled for November, but both sides agreed to move it to April because of the current NFL season. The issue has been percolating since the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in May 2021 for an injury that occurred almost exactly two years ago Sunday.

Moments before the Chargers' game on Sept. 20, 2020, against the Kansas City Chiefs — the same team against which Herbert suffered his rib injury Thursday night — Taylor suffered a punctured lung when Gazzaniga attempted to administer a pain-killing injection to his fractured ribs.

Taylor, 33, alleges in the lawsuit that he suffered «severe physical pain resulting in hospitalization, physical therapy, emotional distress and other past pain and suffering.»

Taylor's attorneys also contend that Gazzaniga's «negligence, carelessness and other tortious, unlawful and wrong acts… caused (Taylor) to lose position as the starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers for the 2020 season,» just before he was scheduled to become a free agent.

«As he returned to free agency,» the lawsuit contends, «he entered as a back-up quarterback as opposed to a starting quarterback. The