Duerson Family Plans To Challenge NFL Concussion Settlement
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The family of the late Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson plans to appeal terms of this week's class-action NFL concussion settlement "sooner rather than later."
Family lawyer Thomas Demetrio objects to the exclusion of future awards for CTE, the brain trauma that some call "the signature disease of football."
Lawyers involved in the settlement say an appeal could hold up payments to thousands of players.
Some are suffering from Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease and stand to get $1 million or more. The average award would be about $190,000 for late-in-life dementia.
A Philadelphia judge approved the settlement Wednesday. It resolves claims the NFL long hid what it knew about concussion-related brain damage.
The 50-year-old Duerson took his life in 2011. He played in the NFL for 11 seasons, mostly for the Bears.
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