Full Answer
What does the NFL’s $1 billion concussion settlement mean?
The NFL settled a concussion lawsuit for more than $1 billion in April, sparing the league a potential trial on claims it concealed the link between brain injuries and football concussions. The settlement, however, will leave former players with a hefty bill.
Did the NFL discriminate against African-American players in concussion settlement program?
Two years ago, two Black retired players sued the NFL for allegedly discriminating against African-American players who submitted claims to the concussion settlement program set up after a 2015 final lawsuit settlement.
Did the NFL fail to notify players of concussion risks?
The lawsuit states that the NFL did not notify its players of the danger of concussion-related brain injuries until 2009. The NFL has agreed to remove race norms from the concussion lawsuit settlement, a move that some have called unfair.
How much is the NFL settlement worth?
The NFL settlement includes a fund of $675 million to compensate former players who have suffered brain injuries and to reimburse them for medical examinations. A separate $75 million fund is set aside to help diagnose any neurodegenerative disease that may have resulted from concussions.
How much did the NFL settle for the concussion lawsuit?
PHILADELPHIA — The NFL agreed to end race-based adjustments in dementia testing that critics said made it difficult for Black retirees to qualify for awards in the $1 billion settlement of concussion claims, according to a proposed deal filed Wednesday in federal court.
What is the NFL doing about CTE?
In 2016, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the launch of an initiative to drive progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of head injuries. The $100 million 'Play Smart. Play Safe' action was meant to go towards enhancing medical protocols and improving the way the game is played and taught.
Are the NFL concussion rules ruining the game?
The new protocol can backfire, risking players' careers Disqualification due to a concussion can damage players' careers, not just their lives. A bad concussion protocol (a long record of concussions, with substantial time that the player has been ruled out from the field) means a threat to a player's career.
What happens if an NFL player gets a concussion?
NFL creates concussion protocol If they see an impact to the head, they call a timeout. The player is escorted off the field to be examined and evaluated. Aside from the spotters, other people can initiate the protocol, including the team trainer, coach or physician, NFL game officials, and the player's teammate.
What percentage of NFL players have CTE?
CTE was found in 99 percent of the brains obtained from National Football League players, 91 percent of college football players and and 21 percent of high school football players. The brain disease can only be diagnosed after death with an examination of the brain.
Who was the first NFL player to have CTE?
Illness. After death, Mike Webster was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease. Webster was the first former NFL player diagnosed with CTE.
Why don t helmets prevent concussions?
The biggest misconception about football helmets is that they prevent concussions. They don't. Helmets protect the skull from fractures. Concussions are caused when the brain moves inside the skull; helmets do little if anything to prevent the brain from rattling inside the skull.
Is football safer without helmets?
In fact, players arms and legs would be more protected without helmets. The collisions would be delivered with less force, and this would protect unprotected areas of a footballers anatomy much better. The final advantage of removing helmets is related to the aesthetic of the game rather than its safety.
Do helmets really prevent concussions?
Wearing a helmet is a must to help reduce the risk of a serious brain injury or skull fracture. However, helmets are not designed to prevent concussions. There is no “concussion-proof” helmet. Using gates at the top and bottom of stairs to prevent serious falls in infants and toddlers.
How many concussions does it take to get CTE?
How many concussions cause permanent damage? According to published research, 17 is the average number of concussions that leads to CTE, which is the progressive brain disease that results in these long-term effects of concussions.
How long does it take to get out of NFL concussion protocol?
How long is concussion protocol? There's no set duration for a concussion protocol because there's a great deal of variation in how long it takes for the brain to recover and heal. In general, the length of the protocol depends on the length of recovery, which in most cases is about two weeks.
How long does it take to recover from concussion NFL?
Concussion recovery and treatment. Approximately 80 percent of concussions resolve over seven to 14 days, with an average of 10 days. People with concussions should never return to sports or other physical activity sooner than one week from sustaining the injury.
How is the NFL trying to prevent CTE?
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell today announced the launch of Play Smart. Play Safe. —an initiative to drive progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of head injuries, enhance medical protocols and further improve the way the game is taught and played.
What has the NFL done to prevent concussions?
Better Performing Helmets: Each year, helmets undergo laboratory testing by biomechanical engineers appointed by the NFL and the NFL Players Association to evaluate which helmets best reduce head impact severity.
Does NFL deny CTE?
While the neuroscience community constantly releases studies showing a causal connection between brain trauma and CTE, the National Football League (NFL) continues to deny that any brain injury can arise from playing football.
Is there a cure for CTE?
There is no cure or treatment for CTE, but certain medicines may be used to temporarily treat the cognitive (memory and thinking) and behavioral symptoms. Consult your doctor before taking any prescription or over-the-counter medication.
Realities Compared With Actuaries
Neurocognitive Impairment) was projected to consume 49% of paid claims and 36.5% of monetary compensation, but because these are more subjective diagnoses and subject to the rigid BAP protocols adopted in the settlement, the NFL has focused on rejection and discrediting of dementia claims in order to try to re-cap the settlement before more bottom lines begin to resemble that of the Green Bay Packers instead of attacking the non-BAP subject diagnoses which are harder to dispute.
Numbers Behind the Settlement
The big story here is found in the columns labeled “Percent of Submitted Claims” and Percent of Approved Claims.” Here’s a close-up comparison.
Settlement Agreement Summarized
Claims Process Described
- Former NFL players had until August 7, 2017 to register as a claimant with the settlement administrator. As that deadline has long passed, the number of potential claimants is now more or less fixed at the number whose registrations were approved—12,837. Those claimants advanced to a formidable claims process detailed in the 161-page settlement agreement,19See …
Race-Norming Controversy
- A controversial element of the claims process, now under reconsideration, is the use of “race-norming” in the baseline assessment tests. The settlement agreement’s diagnostic criteria, consented to by all parties, offers physicians three models for predicting “premorbid intellectual ability,” that is, the player’s cognitive functioning prior to experiencing any football-related head t…
Fraud Against The Compensation Fund
- Fraud is always a concern with mass tort compensation funds, and the NFL and class counsel incorporated in the settlement agreement robust fraud detection and audit provisions.48See Settlement Agreement, supra note 3, at §§ 5.7, 10.3. Notwithstanding those efforts, in April 2018, less than a year after the close of registration for the monetary award fund, the NFL petitioned t…
Fraud Against The Former Players
- Fraud has plagued settlement claimants as much as the fund itself. Predatory lenders and unscrupulous advisors have further victimized the cognitively impaired former players. Shortly after the 2017 settlement registration deadline, class counsel reported to the court that almost 1,000 former players had purported to “assign” to third-party litigation funders the rights to a por…
Conclusion
- In the five years since appellate court approval of the NFL concussion settlement, the parties have faced all the challenges that regularly confront the administration of a mass tort compensation fund, including complexity, delay, and fraud. The federal district court has made extraordinary efforts to resolve the tension between facilitating awards to legitimate claimants without too mu…