Concussion – North Platte Post Archive

APNewsBreak: New Concussions Deal with NCAA Proposed

Posted on April 14, 2015

CHICAGO (AP) — There is a new proposed settlement in a head injury lawsuit against the NCAA brought by football players and other college athletes.

Notice of a new deal came in a filing in federal court in Chicago late Tuesday night.

It’s the second proposal in the case. U.S. District Judge John Lee rejected the initial settlement in December.

The core of the new agreement is the same as the one Lee rejected. The new one also would toughen return-to-play rules after a concussion and would create a $70 million fund to test current and former athletes in contact and non-contact sports for brain trauma.

The new proposal also seeks to address Lee’s criticism. That includes his concern there was a lack of clarity about how athletes normally designated as non-contact sports could benefit if they suffer concussions.

US Judge Wants NFL Concussion Settlement to Aid More Players

Posted on February 2, 2015

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The judge presiding over thousands of NFL concussion lawsuits wants lawyers to tweak the proposed settlement to benefit more retired players.

Senior U.S. District Judge Anita Brody in Philadelphia is considering a plan that could pay out $1 billion over 65 years.

Brody has granted preliminary approval but asked Monday that players get credit for time spent with NFL Europe. She also wants families to have more time to file for deaths involving traumatic brain injury.

Brody has asked the NFL and players’ lawyers to file revisions by Feb. 13.

The NFL expects 6,000 of nearly 20,000 retired players to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or moderate dementia someday.

Critics say former players exhibiting mood disorders would be left out of the settlement, but Brody did not reference those concerns Monday.

NFL Players Who Started Young Show More Thinking Problems

Posted on January 28, 2015

BOSTON (AP) — A study published in the journal Neurology says NFL veterans who started playing tackle football before the age of 12 are more likely to have cognitive difficulties after their careers.

The study published Wednesday says researchers tested 42 former players on their short-term memory, mental flexibility and problem solving. It found those who picked up the sport before they were 12 functioned about 20 percent worse. Robert Stern of the Boston University School of Medicine says both groups scored below average on many of the tests.

Stern says there is a known period of critical brain development that happens around puberty.

He says the research does not lead to any simple solutions.

The study only looked at former NFL players; the conclusions cannot be generalized to a broader population.

Judge Rejects NCAA Concussions Deal

Posted on December 17, 2014

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a proposed $75 million head injury settlement with the NCAA as too broad.

U.S. District Judge John Lee in Chicago issued a 21-page ruling Wednesday denying preliminary approval. He did say the deal could be altered to address his concerns, which include the scope of the proposal. At an October hearing, he raised similar concerns, saying, “The settlement, as it’s constituted, includes every athlete for all time.”

Under the settlement, NCAA would toughen return-to-play rules for players with concussions. It would also create a $70 million fund to test current and former athletes for brain trauma, and set aside $5 million for research.

Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors Approves Enhanced Concussion Protocols

Posted on December 8, 2014

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors (COP/C) held its annual December meeting in Indianapolis on Sunday, December 7, and took another step toward improving student-athlete welfare when it approved a conference recommendation to establish enhanced concussion protocols.

The concussion protocols will move from best practices and minimum requirements for schools to regulatory standards by the conference. In addition, the COP/C unilaterally adopted the establishment of an independent neutral athletic trainer in the replay booth with their own monitor and the ability to directly contact officials on the field. The independent neutral athletic trainer will be in addition to the continued presence of on-field doctors and athletic trainers from each institution.

The enhanced concussion protocols will be incorporated by reference into the existing conference-wide concussion management policy and will include reporting requirements, disciplinary action for non-compliance and a higher level of accountability for conference member institutions.

The adoption of enhanced concussion protocols is the latest step by the conference to further ensure the safety of student-athletes. In May 2010, the Big Ten became the first conference to establish a conference-wide concussion management plan for use by conference institutions. In April 2011, the Big Ten and the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) conducted the first of a series of head injury summits at the conference office, with 40-plus attendees across several disciplines. In June 2012, the Big Ten and Ivy League, in conjunction with the CIC, announced plans to engage in a co-sponsored, cross-institutional research collaboration to study the effects of head injuries in sports.

Judge to Weigh Fairness of NFL Concussion Deal

Posted on November 19, 2014

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Critics of what could be a $1 billion settlement of NFL concussion lawsuits will have their day in court in Philadelphia.

Dozens of former players, relatives and lawyers on Wednesday hope to speak to the judge weighing final approval.

The deal was announced last year to settle claims the NFL long hid what it knew about concussion risks.

The NFL expects about 6,000 former players to develop Alzheimer’s disease or dementia in the coming decades. They would get an average $190,000.

Some critics say that’s not enough to cover their needs — especially when the NFL takes in $10 billion each year.

Lead plaintiff Kevin Turner is battling Lou Gehrig’s disease and can’t make the hearing. But he hopes the deal is approved.

Turner says time is of the essence for players like him.

More than 200 Opt Out of NFL Concussion Settlement

Posted on November 3, 2014

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — More than 200 former players or their families have opted out of the proposed settlement of NFL concussion claims, a small fraction of the retirees who are covered by the deal.

That’s according to court documents filed Monday.

Retired players who opted out of the proposed class-action settlement may pursue individual lawsuits against the NFL, but they presumably will have to show their brain injuries resulted from concussions suffered while they were playing for the league.

The NFL has agreed to pay at least $765 million over 65 years, and more if needed, to address claims the league failed to properly treat on-field concussions.

More than 99 percent of those who would be covered by the deal have agreed to take part.

Concussion Study says NCAA Needs Improvement

Posted on October 22, 2014

BOSTON (AP) — Colleges remain inconsistent in the way they handle athletes’ concussions, according to a Harvard University study that comes more than four years after the NCAA began requiring schools to educate their players about the risks of head trauma and develop plans to keep injured athletes off the field.

In a survey that included responses from 907 of the NCAA’s 1,066 members, researchers found that nearly one in five schools either don’t have the required concussion management plan or have done such a poor job in educating their coaches, medical staff and compliance officers that they are not sure one exists.

The study was co-written by Harvard researcher Christine Baugh and published this week in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Concussion Lawsuit vs. NHL Filed in Federal Court

Posted on October 21, 2014

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The consolidated class-action lawsuit by former NHL players against the league over concussion-related injuries has been filed in federal court.

Attorneys for the ex-players filed the complaint Monday in Minnesota. The case had been assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson. It’s a combination of several lawsuits previously filed.

Dan LaCouture, Michael Peluso, Gary Leeman, Bernie Nicholls, David Christian and Reed Larson are the former players serving as six class representatives. They are seeking a jury trial for unspecified financial damages and NHL-funded medical monitoring for neurological disorders.

They are alleging that the league had the knowledge and resources to better prevent head trauma, failed to properly warn players of the risks, and promoted violent play that led to their injuries.

Players’ Lawyer Defends NFL Concussion Deal

Posted on October 15, 2014

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — More than a dozen objections have been filed over the NFL concussion settlement, but a lead players’ lawyer says he negotiated the best deal he could.

Lawyer Christopher Seeger says the plan was designed to help men with life-altering dementia or brain disease.

Lawyers challenging the class-action settlement this week say it doesn’t cover many of the neurological problems their clients face.

Retirees with serious dementia or Alzheimer’s disease could get $1 million or more. But former players battling depression or other mood disorders wouldn’t be covered.

A federal judge in Philadelphia will weigh objections next month. She declined Wednesday to let critics question Seeger under oath over the negotiations.

The NFL has agreed to pay at least $765 million over 65 years. The fund would offer awards or medical monitoring to nearly 20,000 former players.