In a previous post here, we talked about the importance of workplace safety and a settlement battle between retired National Football League players suffering from severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, well into their retirement. 31 retired players won the class action lawsuit and are expected to receive $4 million dollars each.
In addition, it is believed that as many as 21,000 former NFL players may receive some form of compensation from the $1 billion dollar settlement. The amounts paid will be on a sliding scale based on the severity of the injuries and whether the injuries are related to their time playing football in the NFL.
The NFL appealed the initial decision, but the appeal was denied by the United States Supreme Court.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a degenerative brain disease caused from significant repeated blows to the head. Considering the violence and contact football players regularly endure, it is not difficult to recognize a correlation between their injuries and their experiences during their athletic careers. It is believed that CTE may also lead to additional neurological ailments, including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s.
In all industries and businesses throughout the United States employee rights protect workers and enable them to work in an environment where all necessary precautions are made to protect their health and wellbeing. With the recent spotlight on head injuries in sports and the medical field’s improved abilities to diagnose and address such injuries, the NFL has come under significant criticism for their lack of efforts to protect the long-term health of their players.
Source: Sporting News, “NFL concussion settlement final as U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear appeal,” Dec. 12, 2016