Approvals for over $500 million worth of claims have been made this year in the settlement for NFL players who have developed concussions from injuries that occurred while playing, only two years after the settlement. These numbers are shocking as officials for the league anticipated previously that it would be another decade until these amounts were reached.
Estimations projected that disbursements of $400 million would have been made over the initial decade. Now that payouts have been made, attorneys have amended the estimates for anticipated claims and now believe that the settlement will be close to half a billion higher than the initial approximations, which could end up being as high as $1.4 billion.
Attorneys for the former players recommend that those who think they may be eligible should be assessed. If a qualifying ailment is found or developed within 60 years, they can be awarded compensation.
Since over $500 million has been sanctioned in just two years, the settlement is proving to be useful for previous NFL players and those who depend on them. The settlement was approved beginning in January of 2017 and concluded several thousands of litigations that blamed the NFL for suppressing their knowledge of the dangers of recurrent concussions.
Roughly 2,000 claims were opened in two years, and it’s expected that hundreds more will be filed. These figures exceed all previous forecasts. In total, there are 20,500 players who are retired.
“All former players are covered under this settlement that includes those who acquire dementia, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and other neurological issues instigated by concussions that took place in their professional football vocations,” stated Darren Miller, NFL concussion lawyer. Players with the most severe issues have been awarded up to $5 million.
Numerous previous prominent NFL athletes have been found to have CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) after they’ve passed away, including Ken Stabler and Frank Gifford. CTE is an unbearable disorder that has been linked to head injuries.
Stabler and Gifford are a few professional athletes who have elected to contribute their brains to advance scientific knowledge of CTE. This disease can only be identified after death.
Increasing proof is revealing that professional football athletes jeopardize a great deal when they get concussions and head injuries over and over as a part of their occupation. The devastating illness can be identified through the patient exhibiting signs of dementia, depression, or additional signs that resemble Alzheimer’s.
In studies performed by scholars from Boston University, it was found that 87 of the 91 previous deceased players who were tested had CTE. Neurology professionals have stated that none of the positions in football are safe from these injuries, yet it is recognized that some positions are at risk for more recurring head collisions that cause CTE than others.
Since nearly every former NFL player who has donated his brain to science has developed CTE, there seems to be a clear peril in participating in football games.