On Wednesday, June 1, 2016, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals denied the petition to rehear an objection to the NFL’s concussion settlement. Former players still unsatisfied with the settlement plan asked for the full Third Circuit to review the court’s April unanimous decision to affirm the lower court’s ruling. The uncapped settlement, settling about 5,000 NFL concussion-related lawsuits, provides up to $5 million to individual players suffering from severe neurological diseases. As the settlement covers over 20,000 retired players, the agreement could cost …
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House Report Finds NFL Attempted to Circumvent Funding for CTE Research
A recent house report from the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, Jr. found that the NFL attempted to improperly sway the direction of its $30 million donation to the National Institute of Health (NIH). The report, released on Monday, May 23, 2016, confirms previous ESPN reports positing the NFL may be exerting inappropriate influence on the grant process for scientific studies into CTE.
Back in 2012, the NFL promised the NIH a $30 million donation to support research of serious …
Continue ReadingThird Circuit Asked to Rehear Concussion Settlement
On Thursday, April 28, 2016, objectors to the approved $1 billion uncapped settlement agreement between the National Football League and a class of former players over concussion injuries sustained during their playing careers, filed a petition with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, asking the court to rehear their appeal en banc. In a unanimous decision handed down earlier this month, the court, hearing the appeal with only three presiding justices, affirmed the district court’s decision approving the settlement, holding that the agreement was …
Continue ReadingThe Brain of Former WWE Wrestler Chyna Donated for CTE Research
On Wednesday, April 20, 2016, former WWE superstar Chyna passed away at the age of 46. After her death, her manager, Anthony Anzaldo, made a statement that her brain has been sent for research to see whether she was suffering from a brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
Although the cause of her death is unknown, Anzaldo said they are donating her brain because they “want to know what made Chyna tick.”
Chyna’s real name was Joan Marie Laurer, she was known …
Continue ReadingJudge May Revive Wrongful Death Suit Against NHL
In December, an Illinois judge granted summary judgment dismissing the wrongful death claim Derek Boogaard’s parents brought against the NHL. After years of fighting for their son, the judge recently indicated that two counts of their amended complaint may be sufficient for the case to proceed.
Boogaard was an NHL enforcer for six years; he played for the Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers. In 2011, Boogaard died of an overdose after years of fighting, sustaining various injuries, and becoming addicted to painkillers. After …
Continue ReadingCan a Doctor Diagnose CTE in Living NHL Players?
On April 12, 2016, the National Hockey League requested that a Minnesota federal judge require a doctor to disclose his examination process, as it would be the first time a doctor would diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a living patient. This argument stems from debate over class certification in the former NHL player’s class action lawsuit against the NHL.
The former players of the NHL took a leaf out of the National Football League’s playbook and filed independent lawsuits against the NHL for failing …
Continue ReadingThird Circuit Unanimously Votes to Uphold NFL Concussion Settlement
On Monday, April 18, 2016, the dramatized litigation battle between a class of former professional football players, their loved ones, and the NFL may have potentially come to an end as the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which oversees federal district courts located in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, affirmed an uncapped settlement agreed to in 2015. The Third Circuit panel, writing in a unanimous opinion, found that both the uncapped settlement itself was fair and that the class …
Continue ReadingWife of Deceased Quarterback Joins NFL Concussion Suit
Almost immediately after the release of the New York Times article that claimed the NFL used faulty data in its concussion research, the NFL faced yet another class action lawsuit. Since the article’s release, the NFL has disputed the allegations. The NFL threatened a defamation lawsuit in its demand that the Times retract the article. However, the Times refused to retract and has defended its reporting.
About a week after this class action was filed, Rose Stabler, wife of deceased Oakland Raiders quarterback Kenny Stabler, …
Continue ReadingNew Study Shows High Rate of Brain Injury Among Retired NFL-Players
A new study, set to be presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), shows more than 40 percent of retired NFL players had signs of traumatic brain injury based on sensitive MRI scans (called diffusion tensor imaging), according to a recent Washington Post article. The study involved taking the brain scans of 40 retired NFL players while giving them concentration and memory tests, with the participants having had an average career length of seven years, an average of 8.1 reported …
Continue ReadingDamage Control: NFL Reacts to Statements Made by League Executive About Link Between Football and CTE
On Friday, March 25, 2016, the National Football League beseeched the Third Circuit to not admit statements made by Jeff Miller, the NFL’s Senior Vice President for Health and Public Safety, at a recently-held U.S. Congressional committee roundtable meeting wherein Miller seemingly acknowledged a link between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. This was largely seen as the first time the NFL had recognized such a connection.
The NFL put forth the position that players’ efforts to supplement the record with Miller’s statements should be denied …
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