Fighting recently broke out amongst plaintiff’s attorneys attempting to settle the massive multi-district concussion litigation against the NFL after the presiding judge, U.S. District Judge Anita Brody, nixed a $760 million dollar settlement deal proposal. Judge Brody’s concerns were that the lump sum would be inadequate to fund what could potentially involve 20,000 claims by a variety of NFL alumni over a period of 65 years. Now, the family of the deceased NFL star Junior Seau is voicing their own objections to the proposed deal.…
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Delay of Game: Slow Progress on Settlement in NFL Concussion Litigation
By late last year the giant NFL concussion lawsuit – a case where several thousand former NFL players are suing the league for intentionally downplaying the risks of concussions and related head injuries – looked to be drawing to an early end. Now, one week after U.S. District Judge Anita Brody rejected a motion for preliminary approval of a proposed $765 million settlement to end the ongoing multi-district concussion litigation against the NFL, renewed settlement talks amongst attorneys for the 4,500+ NFL alumni are becoming …
Continue ReadingFlag on the Play – District Court Judge Rejects NFL Concussion Settlement Plan
Last fall the NFL and 4,500 ex-NFL players reached a proposed settlement deal of $765 million to end the ongoing multi-district concussion litigation. In the underlying case, the NFL alumni accused the league of intentionally downplaying the risks of concussions and their correlation to later-life cognitive decline. In addition to the $765 million sum, the NFL was slated to pay out $112 million in additional funds in plaintiffs’ attorney fees.
However, on January 14, 2014, Judge Anita Brody for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania officially …
Continue ReadingFormer NFL Players Fighting to Stay in Court in Hearing on Concussion Suit
On April 9, 2013, U.S. District Judge Anita Brody heard oral arguments in the ongoing NFL concussion litigation venued in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The suit essentially accuses the League of downplaying the risks of concussions and other playing-related head injuries and their effect on later-life cognitive decline. Multiple pending suits were condensed into a single multi-district litigation earlier last year and now includes over 4,200 former NFL players as plaintiffs. The outcome of today’s hearing could decide whether the lawsuit will continue in …
Continue ReadingWere the NFL & Riddell Out of Bounds for Rejecting Competitor’s Potentially Concussion Reducing Helmet?
Industrial designer Phil Straus began thinking of ways to lessen the impact of football head injuries and concussions in the late 1980s. After several years of work Straus developed a prototype of the “ProCap” in 1989 by attaching a half-inch-thick urethane mold on top of traditional football helmets. His work showed signs of promise in lab tests, and later gained acceptance by a number of NFL players who swore that the invention functioned as advertised. Mark Kelso, former Buffalo Bills free safety, swore by the …
Continue ReadingNY AG Says NFL Can’t Fish for Information about Player’s Sexual Orientation at Combine
On March 14, 2013, New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent a warning letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after rumors emerged that the league was asking players about their sexual preferences when they reported to the scouting combine – employer behavior which is illegal in many jurisdictions. The questions at issue were directed to three incoming college players who were allegedly asked whether they had girlfriends, whether they were married, or whether or not they “liked girls.”
New York prohibits prospective employers from discriminating …
Continue ReadingNFL Teams Up with GE to Fund New Concussion Research
On March 11, 2013, the National Football League and the General Electric Co. announced that they are teaming up to create a Head Health Initiative that will provide $60 million dollars to assist leading neurologists in researching traumatic brain injuries and developing technology able to monitor these ailments. $40 million will go towards developing imaging technologies, and the remaining $20 million will be available to others who seek to prevent, identify, and develop treatments for brain injuries. Athletic apparel company Under Armour will also be …
Continue ReadingWill Trainers Become the NFL’s New MVPs in Concussion Fight?
Liability concerns stemming from the NFL’s massive multi-district concussion litigation have been affecting changes which may permanently alter the way the game of football is played. Essentially, the main suit pits former players against the League, accusing the NFL of failing to warn them of the long term risks of concussions and their effect on later-life cognitive decline.
Recent changes made by the NFL include alterations to playing surfaces, equipment, and long standing game-play rules. For example, the League has shortened the kick-off play to …
Continue ReadingPlayers Sue NFL Over Bountygate Bans
With the concussion related class action lawsuit consolidated and ongoing, the NFL was called back into Federal court in Louisiana this week on an unrelated matter. On July 5, 2012, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) sued the NFL over the suspension of several players for their alleged participation a bounty program, a scheme funded by players and coaches that offered monetary rewards for players who injured opponents. Three players from the New Orleans Saints – Scott Fujita, Anthony Hargrove, and Will Smith – were suspended …
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