The family of Matheus ‘bruttJ’ Queiroz is suing his former teams, Team Reapers and Imperial Esports, for negligence after claiming he was forced to play in pain, and the team houses provided to players were not “adequate.”
19-year-old bruttJ passed away in December 2019 due to “health complications” reported by his team Imperial Esports. The player had taken a hiatus off CS:GO 10 days before his passing, which has been linked to a brain infection, as reported by Brazilian news site UOL.
Now, his family is suing his former teams, Team Reapers and Imperial Esports, for negligence, claiming poor living conditions in the team house were the reason for the player’s death.
Não existem palavras que conforte a dor da perda, você ficará para sempre em nossos corações.Essa final vai ser por você!#JogandoPeloBrutt pic.twitter.com/ndkjYEgDCq
— Imperial Sportsbet.io (@imperialesports) December 16, 2019
According to a news report by UOL, bruttJ suffered from “severe headaches, constant vomiting, and loss of vision” after moving into Team Reapers’ house in August 2019.
Other players on bruttJ’s team reported also feeling nauseous, and suspected the cause could have been from the water supply. “Some people had intestinal problems, but we’re not sure if it was because of the water or the food,” said a former player.
The problems continued when he swapped teams to Imperial in November 2019. bruttJ’s mother claimed the players had difficulty resting due to the house’s proximity to a local airport, and there were constant food shortages.
After reporting the issues to management, the players eventually moved out, but bruttJ passed away because of complications just days later. Imperial did offer around $150 USD to support the family’s medical costs, before sending $1,000 after his death.
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Among the accusations are not supplying the team with proper housing, enough food, a clean living environment, and more. The Org has responded and denied all accusations made by Bruttj's mother.
— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) April 15, 2020
However, the family believes the negligence of both teams caused bruttJ’s death, and have filed a labor claim against both Imperial and Reapers.
“There is a lot of evidence that reveals the lack of adequate health conditions in the gaming house,” the lawyer representing the family told UOL.
“Above all, there is even more robust evidence that the teams did not provide healthcare to the player and failed to act when events under their responsibility were indicated.”
Imperial have denied the allegations, stating the conditions of the team house didn’t contribute to the player’s death, as he was only there for 15 days. They also stated they worked with the family to find a solution, but couldn’t get one in time.
Team Reapers have also knocked back the accusations, telling UOL that while bruttJ was living in the team house he showed “no symptoms” of any illness.
There is no set date for the case, at the time of writing.
