Law firms cheated in filing claims with NFL's $1 billion concussion settlement fund, report says

Court officials overseeing the NFL's $1 billion concussion settlement fund have barred five law firms from submitting further claims after a special masters' report found they fraudulently directed retired players to unapproved doctors willing to diagnose Parkinson's disease. The firms were linked to 98 former players seeking six- or seven-figure payouts; 37 pending claims will now be denied, while 57 approved claims totaling more than $95 million had already been paid, with about $20 million going to attorneys.

The report described an organized scheme that bypassed safeguards requiring diagnoses from approved, board-certified doctors. According to the report, firms recruited retired players, sent them to ineligible doctors who diagnosed Parkinson's and prescribed medication, then used those records to influence approved doctors. The named firms were Douglas Grossinger, Attorney at Law; Feder Law, LLC; Pro Athlete Law Firm, P.A.; Syme Law, PLLC; and Reppert Oates & Vytell, LLC.

The NFL settlement, created in 2013 to address claims that the league concealed neurological risks from concussions, provides testing and compensation for illnesses such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS, and CTE-related deaths. The league said the decision sends a clear message that fraud will not be tolerated, while the report warned that additional firms may have been involved.

(Source：The Daily Independent At Yourvalley.net)