PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two trainers with the Philadelphia Flyers are suing Comcast and other entities, after they claim they were exposed to emissions that in turn, caused cancer and rare blood conditions.
Longtime trainers with the Flyers, Director of Medical Services James McCrossin, 64, and assistant athletic trainer Sal Raffa, 42, along with their wives, allege their rare and incurable medical conditions were caused by exposure to carcinogens that they believe came from the "ice resurfacing vehicle" known as a Zamboni.
According to a complaint, filed by the law firm Kline & Specter, the two men work inside the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J., adjacent to both the ice rink and the Zamboni storage room.
Related
Inside the small storage room, the suit says, the machine would be used several times a day and would idle, both before going out onto the ice and after cleaning it.
They go on to claim both the athletic training room and the Zamboni storage location had inadequate ventilation and, in turn, exposed the trainers to toxins.
McCrossin, who's been with the team for more than 20 years, says the exposure caused him to develop rare medical conditions and disorders, including an incurable blood cancer.
Related
Raffa states he, too, developed an incurable and rare blood disease.
In a statement to KYW Newsradio, the Flyers organization said the safety of employees and guests is their top priority, and they believe the claims have no merit at this time.
“The safety of our employees and guests at the Flyers Training Center and all of our facilities is always a top priority for us. We have looked into the allegations made by Jim McCrossin and Sal Raffa over the course of several months, and, based on that, believe that their claims have no merit. Beyond that, we cannot comment further given that this matter is in litigation.”