Court Denies Expedited Appeal Process for NFL Concussion Settlement
Former Patriot Kevin Turner, who suffers from ALS, listens to testimony before the Senate Special Committee on Aging. June 25, 2014
I recently wrote an article about the former players that are appealing the NFL Concussion Settlement. You can read it at this link: NFL Appellants Fighting Against Expedited Court Process.
The lawyers for the approximately 20,000 former players that accepted the Settlement filed a motion to have an expedited appeals process. Unfortunately, that motion was denied. Here is a link to a copy of the court’s order which also lists every former player that has appealed the Settlement: Order on Motion for an Expedited Schedule
I’ve had a number of guys tell me that this appeals process will be over in no time, but the fact is, this is just the beginning of a lengthy court process that on average, takes about a year or longer to resolve.
The former players appealing the Settlement have every right to do this, but my question to them is this:
What do you really expect to gain from your appeal?
I would guess that most of the guys who have filed appeals don’t think they will qualify for an award - right now. So, they are hoping their lawyers can get the Appeals Court to overturn Judge Brady’s decision because the symptoms of CTE were not included in the Settlement.
Do they really think an appeals court is going to overturn the Settlement because the NFL would not agree to compensate players for confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, headaches and mood swings?
One of the leading authorities on CTE – the Boston University Center for the Study of CTE - has the following information right on their website under FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions):
If I have the symptoms of CTE, do I have the disease itself?
Just because you have some or many of the symptoms of CTE does not necessarily mean that you have the disease itself. There are many possible causes of these types of symptoms. If you are having difficulties, you should speak with your primary care or specialist physician.
How is CTE diagnosed?
At this time CTE can only be diagnosed after death by postmortem neuropathological analysis. Right now there is no known way to use MRI, CT, or other brain imaging methods to diagnose CTE. The CTE Center is actively conducting research aimed at learning how to diagnose CTE during life. For more information on this research, please visit http://www.bu.edu/cte/our-research/.
How the hell were our lawyers supposed to overcome that in a court of law - or in their negotiations with the NFL's attorneys?
They couldn’t………..and that’s why we had to settle.
All the former players that have appealed this settlement need to re-examine what they hope to achieve from filing their appeal. Right now, the only thing I see them achieving is a delay in getting awards to the guys that need them the most.
One year ago, to the day, our lead plaintiff in the Concussion Class Action Lawsuit, Kevin Turner sat in a Senate special committee hearing on aging as a leading advocate for those suffering with ALS.
Now Kevin and other former players need advocates to step forward and get this Settlement finalized.
