As we recently reported, the district judge overseeing the NFL’s billion dollar concussion settlement has refused the NFL’s request for a special investigator to uncover potentially fraudulent claimants. Since then, claims administrators in the settlement process have released a report indicating that over $500 million in claims had been approved for payout as of July 30, 2018, which is 8 years ahead of the 10-year, $400 million projection.
Just weeks ago, counsel for the NFL conjectured that the total settlement would reach approximately $1.4 billion, which exceeds their original projection by nearly half of a billion dollars. As of the report release, over 6,000 medical evaluations had been completed, and 7,343 medical appointments were scheduled for evaluations.
Counsel for the former NFL players, Christopher Seeger, provided that although the payout process is long underway, the window has not yet closed for prospective claimants. “We encourage all eligible former players to immediately sign up for a baseline assessment, and they can take comfort in knowing that compensation will be available for more than 60 years if they develop a qualifying condition,” he stated. Additionally, the “fact that $500 million in claims have been approved in less than two years proves that this settlement is fulfilling its promise to former NFL players and their families.”