Athletes bet their bodies on surgeons the way pilots bet their lives on mechanics. Former Cleveland Browns wide receiver David Bell says that bet nearly killed him. Bell sued more than a dozen entities Thursday in a $300 million medical malpractice lawsuit in Pennsylvania state court, alleging he was duped into an unnecessary hip surgery that nearly took his life and ended his promising NFL career.

The Complaint in Brief

In a 69-page complaint, Bell, of Indianapolis, claims a botched surgery cut his femoral artery, leaving him without a career. He says he later learned the operation had been unnecessary and ineffective.

“Because of the injury to his femoral artery and the need to reconstruct it using an interposition graft, Bell had to retire from the NFL on October 14, 2025,” the complaint says. “He can never play competitive football again and may require future surgery to correct or replace the graft. As a result, Bell has suffered enormous personal injuries, including but not limited to lost earnings, impaired future earning capacity, pain and suffering, and loss of ability to play football.”

From Draft Pick to Operating Table

Bell joined the Browns in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He suffered a hip dislocation in September 2024, in the first game of his third season, according to the complaint.

Although he recovered from surgery on his hip, Bell was left with lingering pain during activity, in what is commonly described as athletic pubalgia, sportsman’s groin or a “sports hernia,” the suit says.

The Surgery

Bell sought treatment from surgeon Dr. William Meyers in May 2025 for a “core muscle repair,” dubbed the Meyers repair surgery, which he believed would reduce his pain and have him ready for a fourth season, the suit says.

“Tragically, Bell awoke from surgery to learn that he had narrowly escaped death due to a vascular injury caused by defendant Meyers slicing through his femoral artery, necessitating emergency ambulance transport to Thomas Jefferson Hospital and requiring emergency vascular reconstruction,” the suit says.

Warnings, Reports and Disputed Details

Before the operation, Meyers never warned Bell of the risk of cutting his femoral artery, the suit says. The operative report states that “the femoral artery had been injured and entangled in the scar,” and that Meyers “entered the femoral artery and then mobilized it,” but had Bell transferred to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital because of poor distal flow.

“The operative report misleadingly implies that Bell’s femoral artery had been injured prior to defendant Meyers’s slicing into it,” the complaint says. “However, that is false — a pre-existing femoral artery injury would not have been compatible with life.”

Saved by a Graft, Sidelined for Good

Vascular repair and grafting at the hospital prevented fatal blood loss but ended Bell’s NFL career, the suit says.

“Cash Cow” Allegations

Bell says he later learned the Meyers repair was not as effective as advertised, with effectiveness “marginal-at-best” over return-to-play rates from nonsurgical outcomes. The suit notes that Meyers self-reported most of the data on the procedure, and that it remains “experimental” and/or “investigational,” as Meyers’ own website states, yet serves as a “cash cow” for insurance reimbursements.

As a result, the complaint alleges, Bell’s surgery was “dubious,” or entirely unnecessary, and primarily boosted the hospital’s and surgeons’ insurance billings. The defendants are accused of relying on MR imaging “and intentionally misleading and/or false interpretations derived therefrom” to build the procedure’s reputation.

Defrauded Twice, Bell Says

Bell alleges the surgeon, hospitals, radiologist and affiliated entities defrauded him twice: first by convincing him the surgery was necessary, and second by misreading his May 2025 hip MRI to suggest his pubic plate had detached between abdominal muscles and groin tendons.

“Whether Bell’s pubic plate had detached was not something reasonable physicians could debate — it was the medical equivalent of calling day nighttime,” the suit says.

Eighteen Counts, Hundreds of Millions Sought

The 18-count complaint asserts claims of direct and vicarious medical professional negligence, corporate negligence, fraud, fraudulent concealment, fraudulent misrepresentation, civil conspiracy and aiding and abetting fraud, among others.

It seeks compensatory, punitive and all other available damages and costs likely to exceed $300 million. Beyond lost compensation, the complaint says Bell is suing to prevent this from happening to other patients and to punish the defendants for the “wrongful and fraudulent scheme that nearly killed him.”

The Defendants

The suit names Meyers, Thomas Jefferson University, Jefferson Health, radiologist Dr. Adam Zoga, Vincera Institute, Vincera Orthopedics LLC, Core Performance Physicians LLC and numerous other corporate entities apparently affiliated with them.

Jefferson Health Pushes Back

Jefferson Health said Thursday it categorically denies liability and that the physician who performed the procedure is not employed by Jefferson Health.

“The surgery that forms the basis of the complaint was not performed at Jefferson,” the statement says. “As acknowledged in the pleadings, Jefferson provided life-saving treatment to the patient and will vigorously defend its care and reputation.”

Bell’s Lawyer Responds

Bell’s counsel, Bradford R. Sohn of Brad Sohn Law, said he found it notable that certain defendants have publicly addressed the surgical malpractice allegations while ignoring the allegations of pelvic MRI fraud.

“Since the news of today’s filing, I have already been contacted by additional patients who thankfully did not suffer femoral artery damage, but whose verbal accounts appear to provide yet more corroboration on the allegations regarding the pelvic MRI protocol who graciously offered to share their imaging,” Sohn said. “I encourage anyone to come forward and contact our offices.”

Silence From Others

Zoga and representatives for Vincera Institute didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday, and contact information for Meyers wasn’t immediately available. Counsel information for the defendants wasn’t immediately available.

Legal Teams

Bell is represented by Bradford R. Sohn of Brad Sohn Law and Nathan E. Werksman and Noah M. Werksman of Merson Law PLLC.

For a receiver who was drafted to catch passes, the case is now about something larger: whether a procedure sold as a path back to the field was ever meant to get him there.