The six-billion-dollar lawsuit went on for about six years and is now about to close. Despite the closure, though, the sort of confusion that has marred the case since its inception is something that is not commonly seen in the United States legal system (McCann, 2013). One of the things that is seriously being damaged is the fact that the settlement amount that the players would be collecting is not even close to what they would be collecting if they had won the settlement (Stamm et al. 2015).
Why Players Opted for the Lawsuit
The reason that the case was lodged against the NFL was due to the allegation that the NFL had willfully misled the players regarding the long-term impact of the injuries that they faced (Moser & Saunders). The argument that was formed by the former players was based on the rationale of how the evidence that was linking their set of injuries to brain trauma was linked to the head injury (Moser & Saunders). The opinion of the players was that the head impacts that they face during the course of their football activity have a long-term impact on their health (Brenson, 2017).
Is there any Evidence Behind the Rationale Given by the Players
The rationale that is given by the players is set on the premise that the head injuries that they sustain during the course of their careers are harmful to their career prospects (Saunders, 2017). However, based on the evidence from medical experts, this claim does not seem valid (McCann, 2013). There is not enough empirical evidence to prove that the repeated head impacts that are sustained are harmful to the players’ long-term health (McCann, 2013).
Higher Cap Value of the New Deal
As a matter of fact, multiple rounds of negotiation were needed to ensure that approval for the revised settlement could be carried out (Moser & Saunders). Due to this revised settlement, the cap amount of about $ 765 was removed from the damages (Stamm et al. 2015). What has happened is that this new deal is going to be costing about $ 1 billion to the NFL (Brenson, 2017). As the part of the settlement, there is going to be $ 112.5 million fund that is going to be set aside to make sure that the compensation for the attorneys is carried out who are working on the case (Moser & Saunders). The key thing that has to be noted is that the attorneys in all the cases have individual retainer agreements that go along with the plaintiff and the way they represent themselves. It can range from about 15 % to 40 % of the eventual awareness that is supposed to be given. What it means is that about half of the settlement that they would be getting is likely to be eaten up by lawyers fees (Brenson, 2017).
Conclusion
In the end, the ruling goes against the player. It is due to the fact that the deal clearly states that by making these payments, they are not accepting any sort of liability, and there is no admission of the plaintiff on their part (Moser & Saunders). The case was first filed during the course of 2011, and subsequently was settled as per amount $ 765 million (Saunders, 2017). The federal judge overseeing the case was concerned that the amount that was supposed to be disbursed was not enough to be distributed among 20,000 NFL players (Moser & Saunders).
References
Brenson, K. (2017). Head to Head: The NFL Concussion Scandal and an Argument for OSHA Regulation. U. Chi. Legal F., 595.
McCann, M. A. (2013). Do You Believe He Can Fly: Royce White and Reasonable Accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act for NBA Players with Anxiety Disorder and Fear of Flying. Pepp. L. Rev., 41, 397.
Moser, R. S., Schatz, P., & Fremont, P. Solving the concussion crisis: Practical solutions.
Saunders, Z. (2017). An assessment of hiring practices for head football coaches at the” Power 5″ NCAA Division I FBS level (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh).
Stamm, J. M., Bourlas, A. P., Baugh, C. M., Fritts, N. G., Daneshvar, D. H., Martin, B. M., … & Stern, R. A. (2015). Age of first exposure to football and later-life cognitive impairment in former NFL players. Neurology, 84(11), 1114-1120.
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