NCAA Settles Head Injury Lawsuit

Chicago, ILThe NCAA has agreed to settle a class-action head injury lawsuit filed by athletes who allege they suffered injuries while playing NCAA sports. The settlement will see the NCAA create a $70 million fund so current and former players can be diagnosed to see if they suffered a traumatic brain injury while involved in a variety of sports including football, hockey and other contact sports.

According to ESPN (7/29/14), in addition to the fund, the NCAA will implement one single policy that will govern how players who suffer head blows are treated, rather than allowing individual teams to determine their own policy. Not included in the settlement, however, is money to pay players who suffer brain trauma. Those players will reportedly have to sue for damages or will have to pay out of pocket for any treatment.

In agreeing to the settlement, the NCAA admits to no wrongdoing. The organization has denied that it misled players about the dangers associated with concussions. The first lawsuit in the action that led to this settlement was filed in 2011 by a player who alleged he suffered five concussions and developed memory loss, seizures and depression.

The proposed settlement has not yet received the approval of the courts.

Meanwhile, the courts have upheld a $15.3 million verdict against AC Transit in a lawsuit filed after a woman suffered a broken back while on a bus. The incident, which was reportedly caught on surveillance video, showed a bus hitting a speed bump at 30 miles per hour in a 15 mile-per-hour zone. When the bus hit the bump, the plaintiff, Maria Francisco, was thrown into the air and landed hard on the seat. According to CBS (7/29/14), Francisco suffered a fractured vertebrae in the incident.

The court found that the bus driver was operating the bus in a reckless manner and upheld the $15.3 million verdict against Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District. According to a separate CBS report (5/7/14), a jury in May awarded Francisco $14.3 million and her daughter $1 million for emotional distress after AC Transit refused to settle.

Video of the incident reportedly also showed the bus driver threatening to have Francisco arrested if she was faking her injuries.