Concussion lawsuits filed against the NFL to be consolidated, argued in Philly

A judicial panel has spoken: Philadelphia is now home base for concussion lawsuits against the National Football League.

At least 15 lawsuits filed around the country against the NFL will be consolidated and argued here.

Attorney Larry Coben filed the first of these federal suits in Philadelphia last year.

“We have a lot of organization to do,” said Coben. “There are going at be at least 15 law firms with lots of lawyers with lots of ideas and lots of opinions.” That’s 15 and counting. Any additional cases of a similar nature filed around the U.S. — and Coben predicts there will be plenty — will get added on to this one. But that doesn’t mean things will move quickly. Coben says the first step is determining if it’s even legal for the players to sue the NFL in the first place. “They’re going to raise issues like, for instance, ‘You can’t sue us because there’s a collective bargaining agreement and that covers everything.’ That issue alone could take up to six months to get resolved,” he said. 

If the case moves on, there’s much legal strategizing to be done, depositions to be taken, and medical experts to be conferred with. Coben says all of that would take at least a year.The NFL says it plans to vigorously contest any claims against it.