A settlement has been reached with the NFL to provide compensation to retired football players suffering from CTE and other brain-related injuries.

The NFL has agreed to compensate eligible injured players who retired from the NFL with a monetary award totaling up to $5 million as a result of their work-related injuries.

The concussion settlement was approved last year and resolved claims stemming from a multidistrict litigation against the NFL that alleged the football league neglected to protect its players from the chronic medical issues stemming from repeated head injuries.

A number of conditions are covered under the concussion settlement and include the following:

• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)
• Dementia
• Lou Gehrig’s Disease/ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
• Memory loss
• Parkinson’s Disease

These neurodegenerative diseases have been linked to the repeated head trauma experienced by players in the NFL. Typically, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and dementia are associated with the elderly and may not been thought of as a direct result of chronic head trauma.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a fairly recent diagnosis for many football players, as it was only discovered in 2002. Football players as young as 17 years of age have been diagnosed with this neurodegenerative brain condition.

One of the key findings in this diagnosis was that not only were large, violent collisions responsible for the brain changes and related physical and emotional symptoms, but smaller, repeated head trauma also played a large role in the development of the condition.

Benefits in the NFL Concussion Settlement

Eligible retired injured NFL players who qualify for the concussion settlement will be able to receive all neuropsychological and neurological examinations acquired to assess and diagnose neurodegenerative brain conditions, as well as supportive counseling and any appropriate medical treatment.

Separate monetary awards are also available for players who have been diagnosed with any of the following conditions: ALS, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Level I.5 and Level 2 Neurocognitive Impairment (forms of dementia) and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

The NFL concussion settlement will also provide benefits to educate retired NFL players about the programs that are available to them offering medical services, disability services and other educational services that would positively impact eligible players.

Additionally, the settlement provides monetary support for educational programs designed to promote injury prevention and increase safety protocols for football players of any age, from youth football organizations all the way up to professional leagues.

Taking Part in the NFL Concussion Settlement

Attorneys who are familiar with the terms of the concussion settlement agree that it is complex with many intricate details and that players who filed to participate in the settlement must do so in a very specific way in order to maximize the amount of settlement for which they are eligible.

The settlement document itself consists of 150 pages detailing the rights of injured retired NFL players as well as the terms of settlement.

If you are an injured retired NFL player who may be able to take part in the concussion settlement, an experienced lawyer who has firsthand knowledge of the intricacies of the settlement can review your case at no charge and can help guide you your options as you move forward to consider filing a settlement claim.