A group of retired NFL players with head injuries have reached a settlement, which could provide injured players with up to $5 million.

Retired NFL players with head injuries that have resulted in the following neurological diseases and cognitive impairments are included in the NFL concussion settlement:

• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)/Lou Gehrig’s Disease
• Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)
• Dementia
• Memory loss
• Parkinson’s Disease

Retired NFL players with head injuries
as a result from playing NFL football may be eligible to receive settlement money of up to $5 million to help compensate for their injuries.

The class action settlement, between nearly 5,000 former NFL players and the NFL was approved recently by a Pennsylvania federal judge.

Retired NFL Players With Head Injuries File Lawsuit

When the lawsuit was initially filed in July 2011, 73 retired NFL players with head injuries were involved. The lawsuit accused the NFL of failing to protect its players from the chronic risks linked with repeated head injuries, as well as fraudulent concealing these risks and their severity.

Since the initial lawsuit, hundreds of similar lawsuits have been filed by retired NFL players with head injuries. Because of their similarities, the lawsuits were consolidated into a single NFL concussion MDL, or multidistrict litigation.

According to the litigation, the NFL had a duty to inform its players of the short-term and long-term risks of repeated head injuries that occur while playing football. Players accused the NFL of creating an atmosphere of “glorified violence,” encouraging players to remain on the field despite head injuries.

“MDL Plaintiffs allege that head injuries lead to a host of debilitating conditions, including Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, depression, deficits in cognitive functioning, reduced processing speed, attention and reasoning, loss of memory, sleeplessness, mood swings, and personality changes,” read Judge Brody’s order that approved the settlement agreement.

Some NFL players involved in the class action lawsuit argued that the settlement failed to adequately address their ongoing medical needs. The judge, Anita B. Brody, overruled the objections and deemed the settlement “fair, reasonable, and adequate.”

Judge Brody also certified a class of all living retired NFL players with head injuries who retired prior to July 7, 2014.

Beyond the simple monetary rewards, Judge Brody also approved a $75 million Baseline Assessment Program to provide eligible retired players with free assessments of their neurological functioning.

If you are one of the retired NFL players with head injuries, you may be eligible to receive the settlement money and benefits made available through this litigation.