The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is expected to reach an agreement as early as April to standardize increased safeguards for athletes who suffer concussions while playing college sports. A leading force behind this is Seattle lawyer Steve Berman, a former college soccer goal tender who has brought successful group class actions and other civil suits against Big Tobacco, Enron Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp.
New Agreement Hopes to Solidify Stronger Rules to Recognize and Rest Players with Concussions
Since early November last year, Berman has been negotiating a settlement with the NCAA that would establish a medical monitoring fund for college athletes who experience concussions and place stricter guidelines and restrictions on clearing them to return to play. This deal, which Berman said he expects to make final on or before an April 24th court hearing, would mark a broadening of concerns over sports-related head injuries in the wake of the NFL settlement offer currently under review by a federal judge.
NCAA defense lawyer Sean Berkowitz, declined to comment on the case’s status. The NCAA already has sufficient guidelines in place to ensure athletes’ safety, chief legal officer Donald Remy wrote in an e-mailed statement sent to the media.
The existing lawsuit puts Berman at the very tip of an effort that may recalibrate the relationship between athletes and the Indianapolis-based NCAA, which reported $841.1 million in revenue in the fiscal year ending in August 2012. His law firm is also leading three lawsuits against the NCAA that seek to increase athletes’ control over their finances, including one that seeks money for those whose likenesses have appeared without their permission in many popular video games.
Jeff Kessler, a sports lawyer at Winston & Strawn LLP who has represented players’ associations in North American pro football, baseball, basketball and hockey, said, “The courts are increasingly subjecting the NCAA to the same type of scrutiny that other enterprises and businesses are subject to. It’s a big challenge for the NCAA and how it’s going to develop.”
New Deal and Rule Changes amidst a Flurry of Claims and Litigation over Concussions
As the national focus on concussions in sports intensifies, many sports authorities, including the NFL and the NHL, are enforcing much stricter rules on hits to the head and player safety. In response to several other suits filed by former collegiate, the NCAA has recently instituted measures to boost awareness of how to treat possible head injuries, new league legislation and efforts to implement stricter rules on the playing field.
Several lawsuits have been filed against the NCAA within the past year, including one in U.S. District Court of Chicago that attorneys are working to expand nationwide to consolidate thousands of existing plaintiffs. Among them, one lawsuit similar to Berman’s faults the NCAA for failing to implement a system-wide “return to play” guideline for post-concussion treatment and for failing to deal with the coaching of tackling techniques that lead to head injuries. It also faults the NCAA for profiting monetarily while providing no post-collegiate financial aid or medical treatment to former players forced to deal with the lifelong consequences of traumatic brain injuries.
References:
ABC News –
