NFL to pay $765 million concussion settlement.. Is CFL next?

The NFL just reached a $765 million dollar settlement of concussion-related lawsuits with former players who charged that the league hid known risks for CTE damage.

Now that a precedent has been set, could the CFL, NHL or other heavy contact sport incur similar lawsuits?

[b][u]NFL reaches $765M concussion settlement[/u]

AP
The plaintiffs include at least 10 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including former Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett. They also include Super Bowl-winning quarterback Jim McMahon and the family of Pro Bowl linebacker Junior Seau, who committed suicide last year.

The lawsuits accused the league of hiding known risks of concussions for decades to return players to games and protect its image.
The NFL has denied any wrongdoing and has insisted that safety has always been a top priority.

In recent years, a string of former NFL players and other concussed athletes have been diagnosed after their deaths with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

The settlement likely means the NFL won’t have to disclose internal files about what it knew, when, about concussion-linked brain problems. Lawyers had been eager to learn, for instance, about the workings of the league’s Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee, which was led for more than a decade by a rheumatologist.

Players lawyer David Frederick accused the league of concealing studies linking concussions to neurological problems for decades.[/b]

[url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/08/29/nfl-concussion-settlement-judge-anita-brody-tony-dorsett-jim-mcmahon-junior-seau/2727483/]http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nf ... u/2727483/[/url]

A huge amount of money would cripple the CFL's coffers I'm sure. What thread was that where a guy named mattsdad said the league would be shutting down for a while? :wink:

yes, any class-action suit vs the CFL could irreparably harm the CFL, as opposed to the NFL.
nevertheless, a $765 million dollar payout has to be a painful sting…

and to my knowledge, there is no class-action currently filed against the CFL regarding concussions, although the NFL settlement could prompt one upon the league.

hope not.

I hate these types of cases. Nobody forced them to play football, and there was no malice by the league. The league has safety equipment, spends money on research, development and rule alterations to improve player safety...a constant process of improvement.

This is not like a car that is supposed to be safe to drive and the gas pedal pins down. Everyone has always know that there are physical reproductions to playing a physical contact sport.

Does this mean that a player can sue because their knees are shot within 10 years of retirement? A significant number of retired players have joint replacement before 50…surely they can get a class action going.

I can understand if a league sits idle and does nothing proactive, but this really is not the case.

When a league is raking in the money the NFL rakes in, and can lose the huge millions on an experiment in NFL Europe and not blink an eye, I don't blame the former players for going after them big time.

I don't think the CFL has anything to worry about, it's not like there is a lot of money out there for ex players to obtain.

The lawsuit against the NFL wasn't BECAUSE of concussions it was because they hide information that had been given to them from the players.

Depending on the nature of the claim, this may not be possible. In Canada if the "work place injury" is compensable (through WCB or whichever organization handles WCB claims for that province), the worker gives up their right to sue and the employer, by paying their WCB levies, gets "no fault" insurance against injuries. now this is a very complex discussion, but I know for example that Saskatchewan is one province that specifically exempts "Professional Sports" from their WCB system. This would make Saskatchewan potentially vulnerable to such lawsuits. The CFL (the league) is not their employer, so it should not be able to be sued, UNLESS there was proof the injury was sustained during the playoffs when the league does pay the players. Once again, this depends on HOW the league pays the players (ie; do they pay the team and the team pays the players, or do they direct pay. if they direct pay then they are the employer and may be vulnerable).

I would have to do more research, but if the provinces cover these types of injuries AND the teams paid their levies, it then becomes the responsibility of the employee (player) to promptly report an injury to their management and the mangement starts the claim, at which point the WCB system takes over. The player would then be responsible to cooperate with the WCB until medically cleared to "return to work". Any future issues with that injury would then be covered by WCB and not be the responsibility of the employer (team).

It's an interesting situation and I'm gonna research it further for my own "education" and amusement! :wink:

:cowboy:
[url=http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cfl-55-yard-line/nfl-settlement-players-seem-cfl-concussion-litigation-even-215130011.html]http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cfl-55 ... 30011.html[/url]

Much truth to your quote above Earl…good write-up in the link above.

NFL revenues are about 9 billion a year.... 765 is about 8%... The CFL would pay about 10 million if the same percentage was enforced... Not exactly peanuts, but not crippling.

Thanks taylor that article, good read.

fair point

A terse no comment so far... (according to CBC).

…it’s chump change! you are all forgetting this is paid out over the next 20 years. it’s a little under 24 million per team, over 20 years…that’s walk-about money for the billionaire owners…

unsurprisingly, now a class action lawsuit by former NHL players against the NHL has been filed.

Former Leafs Rick Vaive and Gary Leeman are part of the suit that alleges the NHL concealed information about the long term effects of concussions and with negligence failed to curb sustained head trauma.

Similar suits against the CFL would cripple the league as it’s financial resources pale in comparison to the NFL and NHL.

[b]Well, anybody who was paying attention knew this was coming. After the National Football League settled in August a $765 million class-action lawsuit with 4,500 former players over the long-term effects of concussions, 10 ex-NHLers are launching a similar court action against the NHL.

The lawsuit, filed late Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleges the NHL has not done enough to protect players from the effects of concussions, concealed information about the damaging effects of concussions and has “behaved negligently and fraudulently in regards to the player-sustained head trauma over the past decades.?

Perhaps the key to the lawsuit is the accusation the NHL has known about the debilitating effects of concussions since the 1920s, but concealed the information. As a result, the players put themselves at risk and suffered long-term injuries.

The 10 players involved in the lawsuit (for now) are Gary Leeman, Rick Vaive, Brad Aitken, Darren Banks, Curt Bennett, Richie Dunn, Warren Holmes, Bob Manno, Blair Stewart and Morris Titanic.

[url=http://www.torontosun.com/2013/11/25/nhl-being-sued-by-10-former-players-over-concussions]http://www.torontosun.com/2013/11/25/nh ... oncussions[/url][/b]

If the CFL makes more changes in its rules for especially head and neck safety and enforces a concussion protocol, I don't see near as much made out of it after learning from the NFL's example in a far more litigious country.

Three ideas:

[url=http://forums.cfl.ca/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=85709#p1581333]viewtopic.php?f=15&t=85709#p1581333[/url]

Now there are hundreds of former players that have joined in the class action lawsuit against the NHL…
every contact sport will now be on notice and I can envision MMA/UFC will be inundated in the future.

[b][u]More than 200 players join NHL concussion lawsuit[/u]

More than 200 players have joined, according to lawyers Steve Silverman and Mel Owens, who are at the forefront of the suit.

Owens, an NFL linebacker-turned-disability lawyer said in a phone interview Wednesday that “hundreds? of ex-NHL players are going to become part of the suit, which was filed in U.S. federal court in Washington on Monday.

In a statement released Monday evening, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly called the subject matter “very serious? and said the league intended to defend the case “vigorously.?

[url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/more-than-200-players-join-nhl-concussion-lawsuit-according-to-lawyers/article15641915/]http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/h ... e15641915/[/url][/b]

Whoa,

How much longer before body contact is completely banned in the NFL, CFL, NHL, headers banned in soccer etc...???

a Federal judge shoots down NFL concussion settlement as she is concerned the amount is insufficient…

[b][u]Judge denies NFL concussion settlement[/u] USA Today

One law of sports also applies in the court of law: It’s not over 'til it’s over.

When a tentative $765 million settlement was reached in August in concussion suits filed by more than 4,500 former players against the NFL, both sides lauded it as a way to get help to players in a timely fashion and avoid years (maybe 10 or more) of costly legal battling and delays en route to a jury trial.

Now, that’s at least on hold until a federal judge agrees there’s enough money in the deal to make it work. Absent that, the legal wrangling continues to trial.

In Philadelphia on Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Anita Brody rejected a motion for preliminary approval of the class action settlement reached by mediation. She said she was “primarily concerned” there is NOT enough money in the settlement and insufficient “analysis” to show it’s workable.

attorneys not associated with the settlement told USA TODAY Sports there are other options, including upping the price tag for the NFL – or a potential trial that could shed light on allegations in the suits that for decades the league knowingly misled players about concussions and such long-term effects as depression and dementia.

[url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/players/2014/01/14/nfl-concussion-settlement/4474921/]http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nf ... t/4474921/[/url][/b]

3 Time Pro Bowler and former CFL all-star Terry Metcalf is now the 8th player (with likely more to come) to sue the CFL for concussion related impairment issues…
(including all-stars Eric Allen and Arland Bruce to name a few)

It's going to be well worth watching this situation to see who else comes forward and how many lawsuits wind up being filed against the CFL. [url=https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cfl-55-yard-line/report-terry-metcalf-set-become-third-70s-80s-181642742.html]https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cfl-5 ... 42742.html[/url]

Allen’s case is especially a sad one considering the severity of impairment involved as well as lack of education and non-existent concussion protocols in place during the 70’s…

[b]Allen, who played his best seasons with the Toronto Argonauts from 1973-75, suffers from serious brain damage caused by multiple concussions sustained during his playing days.

According to Allen’s mother Rebecca Young, he “can hardly walk now” due to severe vertigo and suffers memory and mood issues. Young says.[/b]