Earlier this
month, a new proposed settlement agreement was filed with the Court in the NCAA
Concussion MDL. In December, District Court Judge John Z. Lee rejected a
preliminary approval of the lawsuit, saying it was unclear in some sections and
the dollar amount proposed was potentially insufficient. Lee then ordered both
sides to attempt to reach a different settlement.
The original
lawsuit called for the NCAA to create a $70 million fund to test current and
former athletes in contact and non-contact sports for trauma caused by brain
injuries. It also called for the NCAA to strengthen its return-to-play rules
after an athlete suffers a concussion. Judge Lee had noted that the first settlement
did not allow the NCAA a means of enforcing schools to adopt rigorous
return-to-play concussion policies.
The first
lawsuit was filed in 2011 by four plaintiffs, including former safety Eastern Illinois Adrian
Arrington, who said that he suffered five concussions during his career, with
some so severe that he couldn’t recognize his parents after the head trauma. Since
then, a total of 10 lawsuits have been filed against the NCAA, which were
consolidated into an MDL in Chicago.
However, one
attorney has objected to the proposed agreement. His argument includes that the
proposed settlement is not just-compensation to athletes.
Reports have
indicated that the amount of the settlement is close to the original proposed
one.
In both settlement agreements, no money is allocated to athletes for damages. Instead the money would go towards testing and monitoring of former NCAA athletes. Approximately 4.4 million athletes could apply for the NCAA-funded testing.
