Late Brazilian CS:GO Pro's Family Takes Legal Action Against Former Teams for Negligence Towards the Player's Health
Cover Image Courtesy: CBCS | Thumbnail Image Courtesy: Imperial eSports
- Deceased Brazilian CS:GO pro Matheus “brutt” Queiroz's family is suing his former teams, for negligence towards his deteriorating health.
- His mother points to various factors like bad tasting water, shortage of food, and poor living conditions as the reason behind the player's health complications.
- Both the organizations have refuted the allegations against them and no set date for the case has been announced yet.
The family of late Brazilian player Matheus “brutt” Queiroz is taking legal actions against his former teams, Imperial e-Sports and Team Reapers, for negligence towards his health. They believe that “The outcome could have been different if there had been speedy diagnosis, proper treatment, and support from the esport teams the player played for,” according to a report by UOL.
Brutt who passed away four months ago in December last year due to an unknown brain infection had everyone across the community quite shocked, as his mother Cristiane Fernandes Queiroz Coelho revealed that “Brutt suffered from severe headaches, constant vomiting, and loss of vision and mobility.”
She went on to state that brutt had been fit when he had joined Team Reaper in December 2018 as he was still playing remotely from the comfort of his own residence in Rio de Janeiro, but “started to have diarrhea,” after moving to Team Reapers' gaming house in Sao Paulo in August 2019.
Other members of the team also claimed to have been affected by diarrhea, suspecting the strange tasting water from the filter to be the cause of the problem. As one of them stated that “Some people had intestinal problems, but we're not sure if it was because of the water or the food.”
In October 2019, brutt experienced stomach pains and after two visits to the hospital was diagnosed with esophagitis (inflammation or irritation of the oesophagus) and gastroenteritis (intestinal infection).
Brutt left Team Reaper and joined Imperial e-Sports in November 2019, however his problems did not end as his mother pointed out that there was no air-conditioning at the new gaming house while being close to the Congonhas Airport, leading to “difficulty resting due to the heat and noise.”
To make matters worse the family alleged that shortage of food and hygiene became concerns, with the bathroom being flooded due to constant clogging of the drain. Though the players later moved out, it was too late for brutt who had passed away due to numerous complications.
His mother stated that during his time at Imperial e-Sports, brutt had to seek medical attention at least five times, and when she arrived at the gaming house on 30th November to take him back in order to take better care of him she exclaims that “I saw my son lying in a double bed. He was pale, with black eyes. My son looked like an undead.”
“Nobody bought medicine for my son,” she further adds despite him having a prescription from the doctor, but the owner of Imperial Felippe "Felippe1" Martins did offer them around $153 to help with medical expenses, while another $957 was transferred to her from the organization after brutt’s demise.
Cristiane believes that errors were made by both, medical care and esports teams while filing for legal action against both Team Reapers and Imperial e-Sports.
“There is a lot of evidence that reveals the lack of adequate health conditions in the gaming house. While there is even more robust evidence that the teams did not provide health care to the player,” says the lawyer representing brutt’s family.
Adding that the lawsuit is only against the teams as “It is a negligence of the companies. Labour and sports laws place all responsibility on the employer.”
Imperial has denied the allegations, with CEO of the organization Felippe Martins giving a reason for every claim made against them while also mentioning how they had provided assistance to the player during his hospital visits along with financial assistance as well.
Further, he claimed that the conditions of the team house didn’t contribute to the player’s death, as he was only there for only 15 days. Finally, he mentioned how he had reached out to the family but “they never answered me,” and is ready to provide all necessary clarifications as and when required.
Team Reapers have also refuted the accusations, giving a statement to UOL that while brutt was with the organization he didn’t show any symptoms “that showed the severity of his health.”
At the time of writing this article, no set date for the case has been announced or declared.
Note: Statements from involved parties were translated using Google Translate.
