Appeals Court Upholds NFL Concussion Settlement
Court OK’s NFL’s $1 billion plan to settle with ex-players hurt by concussions amid allegations league hid some of them.
A federal appeals court is upholding a roughly $1 billion settlement over concussions in the National Football League.
But the ruling may not satisfy a former Detroit Lions player who is suing the league.
A year ago a U.S. district judge approved the NFL’s plan to pay about $1 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits filed by past players concerned about concussions.
Some players, however, challenged the settlement, saying it did not sufficiently cover all long-term health problems associated with concussions.
Now a federal appeals court has upheld the settlement, arguing it will provide immediate relief to suffering retired players.
That includes those with the disease known as CTE, which has been found in dozens of former NFL players whose brains were examined after they had died.
NFL officials recently acknowledged for the first time that there is a link between playing football and developing CTE.
Last month former Detroit Lions defensive lineman Tracy Scroggins, who was one of a few hundred players who opted out of the settlement, filed a separate lawsuit after a New York Times story alleged the NFL concealed incidents involving concussions.
