Lippett is among the 1,703 former players that submitted claims for monetary awards since through March 13GETTY IMAGES
Around 180 former NFLers applying for assistance under the league's $1B concussion settlement have seen those requests "denied" as of last Tuesday, according to a front-page piece by Bob Hohler of the BOSTON GLOBE. Attorney Jason Luckasevic, whose client Ronnie Lippett is among those denied so far, claims that the NFL and "court-approved administrator processing the claims are unfairly denying benefits to brain-injured players or are trying to reduce or reverse monetary awards through appeals, audits, and other tactics." Through March 13, 1,703 former players had "submitted claims for monetary awards since the process began nearly a year ago," but just 156 players -- less than 10% -- have "received payments" of a combined $150M. The league has funded an additional $56M for 45 other players, but the payments "had yet to be made for various reasons." Meanwhile, only six of 1,108 players "who had filed monetary claims for diagnoses of dementia ... had been paid" through March 13. Another 49 claims had "received initial approval for payment, but most are pending appeals or other delays." Attorney Patrick Tighe, who reps 90 former players that have filed claims, said, "This settlement agreement was touted as simple, straightforward, and one that would result in quick and fair payouts. Now, after a year, we see that the NFL is fighting every claim" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/18).
