Attorneys call for ending appeals of Concussion Settlement
Jason Luckosevic with former NFL Players
“…in the practice of personal injury litigation, you either accept a settlement or fight on. I think it’s a shame to the thousands of moderate and severely brain injured players to delay this matter by appealing it.” - Jason Luckasevic, Attorney representing 600 former players
“If these appeals actually had a significant chance of improving this settlement for retired players, I would be first in line to support them. But these appeals will not improve the settlement. Instead, I am convinced that they will do nothing but delay benefits for the men in most dire need.” - John V. Hogan, Disability Attorney
"It is our hope that those who have already filed a notice of their intent to appeal reconsider and let the current retirees who are in dire straits receive, finally, some semblance of dignity and an improved quality of life." - Thomas Demetrio, Attorney for the Dave Duerson family
You can read the articles where these men are quoted here, here and here.
I’m glad to see these attorneys and some former players publicly calling for an end to the appeals that have been filed over the approved NFL Concussion Settlement.
Jason Luckasevic filed the very first concussion lawsuit against the NFL. He was initially a critic of the original Settlement, but now that it has undergone several modifications, he knows that we have arrived at the best Settlement we can get.
Jason represents a lot of former players and they know he would not be advocating for an end to the appeals unless he was damn sure he had done all he could to get the best deal possible.
“Jason’s clearly the guy to speak on this matter. He is battle tested and has been doing this entire process along with over 600 players that he represents. I don’t know John Hogan as well as I know Jason Luckasevic. And what I know about Jason Luckasevic is that he’s a man of integrity and he will fight his butt off for what’s right.” - Leonard Marshall
I have received hundreds of emails from former players that want this Settlement approved and I’ve received emails from a handful of guys that say we should continue the fight. But remember these important facts:
20,000 former players are included in this NFL Concussion Settlement.....but:
Only 4,566 former players filed lawsuits alleging injury and impairment (or the increased risk of impairment) caused by concussions and/or sub-concussive blows.
Only 223 opted out so they could continue their litigation against the NFL and not delay payments to the players that need it most.
Only 94 have decided they want to appeal the Settlement and continue the fight. Some of them, like Alan Faneca, never even filed lawsuits. Even if they lose their appeals, they are still included in the Settlement. It’s a win-win strategy for them – but for the guys that are battling serious brain injuries and may never see the day when this Settlement is finally approved, it’s a lose-lose strategy.
I wish that all 20,000 former players could qualify for some type of award under the Settlement, but only 4,566 guys filed lawsuits and many, like me, knew we probably wouldn’t qualify for an award right now. Nonetheless, we wanted to protect ourselves and our families because the research showed us that we were far likelier than the general population to develop ALS or Alzheimer’s in the future.
We also believed that the NFL should do something to protect the future of the game we love. Remember, if the NFL folds - so does our Pension Plan. That’s why we insisted on an Education Fund in the Settlement to help spread the word to the younger generation of players about protecting themselves by using the proper tackling techniques (things we wish we were taught when we played). As part of the Settlement, the NFL will allocate $10 million toward medical, safety, and injury-prevention research, and toward educating retired players on NFL benefit programs.
We know that football - at all levels - can cause serious injury. What we need to do is work as hard as we can to make the game safer without turning it into the Pro Bowl. Sorry, but no one will pay to watch games that are turned into Dancing with the Stars.
Former players have already made the game safer for the new generation, but now it’s time to take care of the old generation. A majority of older players filed the lawsuits that ultimately led to the Settlement - and quite a few of them are suffering from moderate dementia, ALS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
Let’s drop the appeals……… and let’s git er done!
