A Derivative Claimant is someone who has a right to recover because he or she has a certain relationship with a Retired NFL Football Player, such as a spouse, parent, or child.
If the Claims Administrator finds one or more Derivative Claimants eligible for a Derivative Claimant Award, their combined Award will be 1% of the Player’s Monetary Award. This 1% comes out of the Player’s Award and is not on top of it.
Yes. A Retired NFL Football Player can have more than one Derivative Claimant. If multiple Derivative Claimants are attached to a Player and the Claims Administrator finds them eligible for a Derivative Claimant Award, they share the 1% of the Player’s Monetary Award.
Yes. A person who wishes to pursue a claim based on relationships with more than one Retired NFL Football Player must submit a Registration Form for each such relationship.
No. A deceased person is not eligible for a Derivative Claimant Award in this Settlement Program. Only living Derivative Claimants can submit Derivative Claim Packages or receive a Derivative Claimant Award.
Yes, you can register as the Representative Claimant of the Retired NFL Football Player and as a Derivative Claimant of that Player. You must use two different Registration Forms, one for each role.
Reminder: A Representative Claimant registers on behalf of a Retired NFL Football Player who cannot do so himself because he is legally incapacitated or incompetent or has died. A Derivative Claimant registers on his or her own behalf, based on a relationship with a Retired NFL Football Player.
Yes, Derivative Claimants must register before they can submit Derivative Claim Packages. A Derivative Claimant’s deadline to register is 30 days after the related Retired NFL Football Player submits a Claim Package. If you are a Derivative Claimant, you can register in one of two ways:
(1) Online: go to https://www.nflconcussionsettlement.com/register.aspx and follow the step-by-step instructions.
(2) Mail: a Registration Form is available on the Forms page of the Settlement Website for you to download, print and mail (click here to get it) to the Claims Administrator at one of the addresses listed here.
Reminder: Registering is not the same as submitting a Derivative Claim Package. The Claims Administrator will hold 1% of the Player’s Monetary Award if any Derivative Claimants have registered or there is still time for one to register, but Derivative Claimants must still submit a complete and timely Derivative Claim Package. The Claims Administrator will review Derivative Claim Packages to determine eligibility for Derivative Claimant Awards only after the associated Player becomes eligible for a Monetary Award.
If no one registers as a Derivative Claimant of a Retired NFL Football Player and the timeframe to do so has run out, the Claims Administrator will not reserve the 1% of the Player’s Monetary Award for any potential Derivative Claimant Awards.
The 1% deduction from the Player’s Monetary Award is for potential Derivative Claimant Awards. There may be no Derivative Claimant who is eligible to receive a Derivative Claimant Award. If that is the case, the 1% amount will be awarded back to the Player. Click here to read the Overview of Derivative Claimant Process for more information.
If you created a Portal account on the Claims Administrator’s Settlement Website (www.nflconcussionsettlement.com), log in and follow the directions to submit your Derivative Claim Package. You also can create a Portal account now if you would like and submit your Derivative Claim Package online. If you do not have a Portal account and do not wish to create one, you can mail your Derivative Claim Package to the Claims Administrator. The address is listed here.
Reminder: The Portal is a secure website where you (or, if you are represented, your lawyer) and the settlement administrators can exchange information easily and quickly. You do not have to use the Portal to participate in the Settlement Program. Even if you use the Portal, you can tell the Claims Administrator you prefer to send and receive information by mail.
You can send your Derivative Claim Package using one of these methods:
|
U.S. Mail:
Claims Administrator
NFL Concussion Settlement
P.O. Box 25369
Richmond, VA 23260 |
Delivery (ex., FedEx, UPS):
NFL Concussion Settlement
c/o BrownGreer PLC
250 Rocketts Way
Richmond, VA 23231 |
Yes. You must submit a Derivative Claim Package no later than 30 days after the associated Retired NFL Football Player (or his Representative Claimant) receives a notice that he is eligible for a Monetary Award. The Claims Administrator will provide you notice of your deadline if you have not yet submitted a Derivative Claim Package when the associated Player becomes eligible.
After the Claims Administrator receives your Derivative Claim Package, it will either: (1) determine whether your claim is denied, or (2) hold your claim until the Retired NFL Football Player (or his Representative Claimant) receives a final determination about his Monetary Award.
If the Player’s Monetary Award claim is denied (and there is no appeal or the Court denies his appeal), the Claims Administrator will also deny your claim for a Derivative Claimant Award. If the Claims Administrator holds your claim, you will receive a Derivative Claim Package Receipt Notice.
Your Derivative Claim Package is complete if it includes these items:
(a) A filled out Derivative Claim Form signed by you; and
(b) A filled out HIPAA Form signed by you.
Reminder: The Settlement Program uses different HIPAA Forms for different purposes. Your Derivative Claim Package must include the “Derivative Claimant HIPAA Authorization Form.” Click here for a copy of the HIPAA Form that you can print and download from the Settlement Website.
The Claims Administrator will tell the Retired NFL Football Player (or his Representative Claimant) that someone has registered as a Derivative Claimant when he is eligible for a Monetary Award. The Player’s notice will name any registered Derivative Claimants and describe his right to challenge each such Derivative Claimant’s right to share 1% of his Monetary Award.
Reminder: More details about this process are available in the Overview of Derivative Claimant Process on the Settlement Website (click here to read it).
The Claims Administrator will tell you whether any other Derivative Claimants have registered for the same Retired NFL Football Player when it determines who is eligible to receive the 1% of that Player’s Monetary Award. Your notice will name any Derivative Claimants who are eligible to share the Derivative Claimant Award and describe your right to object to how the 1% has been allocated.
Reminder: More details about this process are available in the Overview of Derivative Claimant Process on the Settlement Website (click here to read it).
If you submitted a Derivative Claim Package, the Claims Administrator will tell you if the Retired NFL Football Player (or his Representative Claimant) challenges your right to a Derivative Claimant Award by sending you a notice related to that challenge.
Reminder: More details about this process are available in the Overview of Derivative Claimant Process on the Settlement Website (click here to read it).
If a Derivative Claimant does not want to share the 1% equally, he or she can submit an Allocation Objection to the Claims Administrator. The Claims Administrator will analyze each Derivative Claimant’s right to share the 1% under the laws of the state where the Retired NFL Football Player lived at the time he received his Qualifying Diagnosis (or his date of death if the Qualifying Diagnosis is Death with CTE). A Derivative Claimant may or may not benefit from an Allocation Objection, as his or her Award may increase or decrease. Depending on the laws and who the Derivative Claimants are, one or more Derivative Claimants could receive no Derivative Claimant Award.
Reminder: More details about Allocation Objections are available in the Overview of Derivative Claimant Process on the Settlement Website (click here to read it).
The Claims Administrator will use one of these two laws to analyze Derivative Claimant issues, depending on the Retired NFL Football Player’s Qualifying Diagnosis:
(a) Wrongful Death Laws for Death with CTE Qualifying Diagnoses: Each state has laws explaining who may recover damages when a family member or relative dies because of someone else’s wrongful act. Most state wrongful death laws will detail the order in which certain people may recover and the amounts they are entitled to receive.
(b) Loss of Consortium Laws for all other Qualifying Diagnoses: Some states allow certain people to recover damages when a family member or relative is injured because of someone else’s wrongful act, but each state decides differently who may recover for this. Some only recognize a spouse’s right to recover, while others extend the right to children, parents and other types of people.
Reminder: The Claims Administrator uses these two legal causes of action because they were included in the Plaintiffs’ Master Administrative Long-Form Complaint filed with the Court on June 7, 2012, and are most relevant to Derivative Claimants who claim they have a right to a Derivative Claimant Award under applicable state law based on a Retired NFL Football Player’s injury or death. The Claims Administrator does not consider any other cause of action as a basis for a Derivative Claimant’s right to recover.
Yes. The Special Masters adopted the Rules Governing Appeals of Player Challenges to Derivative Claimants, which cover the appeal to the Special Master by a Derivative Claimant or a Retired NFL Football Player or the Representative Claimant of a deceased, incapacitated, or incompetent Retired NFL Football Player from the Claims Administrator’s determinations on challenges by a Retired NFL Football Player or Representative Claimant to whether a person qualifies as a Derivative Claimant. These Rules are available here.