Well, recent news reports have it that the former National Football League (NFL) player’s family has opted to object to the league’s proposed $765 million settlement of players’ head injury claims.
According to reports, the family is seeking a separate award for the late player’s wrongful death.
It could be remembered that Seau committed suicide in May 2012. However, although it is a self-inflicted death, his family subsequently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against NFL months after the doctors ruled out that the NFL player suffered head injury as a result of repeated concussion.
In the said lawsuit, the family blamed the NFL for its “acts or omissions” the concealed the dangers of repetitive blows to the head. They claimed that Seau developed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) from those hits. The family accused NFL of deliberately ignoring and concealing evidence of known concussion risks.
Now that NFL is offering thousands of millions to settle the said claim, Seau’s family was not pleased with the offer. They claimed that the fund would not cover wrongful death claims to survivors.
In fact, aside from Seau’s family, other potential critics are also starting to come out to the proposed settlement deal, which was drafted during long months of hard fought negotiations between the player’s lawyers and the league.
The negotiation only came to light after claims of head injury from former and current players against NFL and other sports league started to surge.
If the settlement is approved in court, survivors would receive $4 million on behalf of players diagnosed with traumatic brain injury after their deaths.
The payments could actually reach as high as $5 million dollars for younger players with Alzheimer’s disease while players with only mild dementia would receive $25,000 or even less under the proposed deal.
The NFL argues that the offer is already a good deal since if the case failed to reach discovery or trial, claimants could likely end up with nothing.
“It might be a good deal for some claimants, but for others, especially those who have lost their loved ones due to head injury, it might not be a sufficient compensation. What’s worst is that the deal could likely mean a delay on individual lawsuits until all appeals are finalized with the proposed settlement,” speculated by a Los Angeles wrongful death attorney.
