CHICAGO (AP) — The NCAA is hailing a settlement in a class-action concussions suit that creates a $70 million fund to diagnose current and former college athletes for possible brain injuries.
The sides announced a deal Tuesday in a filing in federal court in Chicago. They’d been negotiating for nearly a year.
The NCAA’s chief medical officer, Brian Hainline, calls the settlement provisions “proactive measures” that “will ensure student-athletes have access to high quality medical care.”
The Indianapolis-based NCAA also agrees to implement a single, return-to-play policy spelling out how all teams must treat players who receive head blows.
The agreement stops short of setting aside a fixed amount of money to pay players who suffered brain trauma. But it leaves open the possibility that individual athletes can sue the NCAA for damages.
