Special Masters Accuse Five Law Firms of Fraud in NFL Concussion Fund, Order Denial of 98 Players' Claims and Diagnostic Overhaul
Special masters allege improper Parkinson's diagnoses and medication use in claims involving 98 former players. The NFL has paid out more than $1.5 billion from the fund.
ESPNFive law firms representing 98 former NFL players have been accused of scheming to defraud the league's concussion settlement fund of more than $87 million, according to a 51-page filing made public Monday by Special Masters David A. Hoffman and Verrier. The audit alleges the firms worked with a handful of doctors to supply improper Parkinson's disease diagnoses.
Players were prescribed powerful symptom-stemming medications, including Levodopa, before evaluations by fund-approved physicians. " The special masters called for denial of all pending claims from players represented by the accused firms or evaluated by the eight doctors listed in the report. They also ordered a remaking of the Parkinson's diagnosis process.
The decision does not state that any player diagnosed with Parkinson's does not have the disease and addresses only the process used to press the claims. The accused lawyers and firms are Douglas Grossinger, Feder Law LLC, Pro Athlete Law Firm PA, Syme Law PLLC and Reppert Oates & Vytell LLC. The firms declined or did not respond to requests for comment.
NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said the league was pleased with the decision. "The remedies that the Special Masters imposed are provided for by the Settlement Agreement and were necessary given the scope of misconduct uncovered by the Claims Administrator's investigation," McCarthy said.
5 billion to former players from the uncapped fund, which was created after the league settled a lawsuit alleging it had not acted on improving scientific understanding of the dangers of concussions.
The settlement has drawn complaints from retired players and their advocates over a grinding review process and narrow path to compensation. The special masters noted they have the power to refer their findings to federal authorities but stated the decision is not a criminal complaint or the result of a law-enforcement investigation.
Hoffman, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, previously found in 2021 that a Florida law firm influenced doctors and forged medical records on behalf of players.
In 2021 the NFL also pledged to end the practice of race-norming cognitive tests for dementia after a lawsuit by two former players.
