Court officials overseeing the NFL's $1 billion concussion settlement fund have permanently barred five law firms from handling any future claims from former players, following the discovery of a coordinated fraud scheme that funneled players to doctors willing to diagnose Parkinson's disease regardless of actual symptoms. The special masters appointed to supervise the settlement filed a report Monday in U.S.
District Court in Philadelphia detailing what they described as an organized effort to circumvent anti-fraud safeguards and launder questionable diagnoses into payable claims.
The five firms represented or performed work for 98 former players who sought six- to seven-figure payouts for Parkinson's disease claims in recent years. Of those, 37 pending claims will now be denied, though players may restart the process.
However, 57 claims had already been approved, totaling more than $95 million, before suspicious activity triggered an audit.
The report identified the firms as Douglas Grossinger, Attorney at Law; Feder Law, LLC; Pro Athlete Law Firm, P.A.; Syme Law, PLLC; and Reppert Oates & Vytell, LLC. Among the attorneys involved was Bart Oates, a former three-time Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers who earned his law degree while still playing in the NFL.
Oates did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The scheme involved recruiting retired players and sending them to unapproved doctors who diagnosed Parkinson's and prescribed medication to suppress symptoms. In one instance, players waited in a Dallas hotel lobby to be examined by a traveling doctor who had rented a suite for that purpose.
Another unapproved doctor was neither board-certified nor a movement disorders specialist, and was ineligible due to past bankruptcy, tax liens, and civil judgments.
After receiving a diagnosis and prescription from an unapproved doctor, the law firms sent clients to approved physicians. Those approved doctors were then hamstrung because the players were already on symptom-suppressing medication, leaving them little choice but to rely on the prior diagnosis and prescription.
The report stated that the practice began with Grossinger, who recruited other attorneys to submit claims on his behalf to avoid raising suspicion. Oates, according to the report, cold-called retired players promising a Parkinson's diagnosis if they switched to his firm.
The NFL established the fund in 2013 to settle class-action allegations that the league hid the neurological risks of concussions. The settlement, designed to last 65 years, offers retired players baseline testing and compensation of up to $5 million for serious illnesses linked to football concussions, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS, and deaths involving CTE.
The league has previously expressed concerns about doctor-shopping and fraud, while some attorneys have accused the NFL of obstructing legitimate claims.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement that the league remains committed to ensuring players receive the benefits they deserve, and that any misconduct threatens the integrity of the settlement. He praised the special masters' decision, saying it sends a clear message that fraud will not be tolerated.