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Dr. Cook
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April 2, 2026
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On April 2, 2026, pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules Governing the Audit of Claims, the Special Masters issued a Decision on the Audit Proceeding regarding Dr. Lisa Cook. The Decision states that any Settlement Class Member who underwent a BAP exam nominally conducted by Dr. Cook, and who either received a finding of no impairment or whose pending Claim will be denied in this Audit, will have the right to a new one, paid by the Program, to be scheduled as soon as possible. The Decision denies pending Monetary Award claims supported by an evaluation purportedly performed by Dr. Cook. The Decision also directs the Claims Administrator, among other things, to deny any Monetary Award claim submitted in the future that is supported by an evaluation purportedly performed by Dr. Cook and to instruct Claimants and Providers that records produced by Dr. Cook shall not be relied on and must be excluded from any future claim filings.
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Notice Concerning Audits of Individual Players
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November 25, 2025
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On November 25, 2025, the Special Masters issued a Notice Concerning Audits of Individual Players. The Notice discusses recent cases where Players have, in communicating with their medical providers, omitted or misrepresented information that would have been relevant to these doctors in making an accurate diagnosis. Two illustrative recent Audit Decisions are posted with the Notice. The Decisions are redacted to conceal the identities of certain parties.
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Rule 27 Decision by Special Masters Regarding SPID 100001914
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July 21, 2025
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On July 21, 2025, pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules Governing the Audit of Claims, the Special Masters issued a Decision on the Audit Proceeding regarding SPID 100001914. This Decision is redacted to protect the identities of certain parties. The Decision denies the Monetary Award Claim of SPID 100001914 without prejudice and directs the Claims Administrator to apply specialized processing rules for any future Claims submitted by SPID 100001914. The Decision also censures law firm Collins & Truett, P.A. for their actions in responding to the Audit.
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Pro Athlete Law Firm, P.A.
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November 1, 2024
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On November 1, 2024, pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules Governing the Audit of Claims, the Special Masters issued a Decision on the Audit Proceeding regarding Pro Athlete Law Firm, P.A. ("Pro Athlete"). This Decision is redacted to conceal the identities of certain parties. The Decision directs the Claims Administrator to deny pending and future claims filed by Pro Athlete that reflect the problems identified in the Audit and to give additional scrutiny to claims Pro Athlete withdraws and then re-files. The Decision further directs the Claims Administrator, after certification to the Special Masters, to process in the ordinary course claims that are free of the issues discussed in the Audit. The Decision also states that Pro Athlete and attorney David Levine are barred from further participation in the Settlement Program. On July 2, 2025, the Court issued an Order which generally affirms the Special Masters’ Rule 27 Decision but denies the Special Masters’ request that Pro Athlete and Mr. Levine be barred from further participation in the Settlement Program. The Court directs the Claims Administrator to continue to carefully scrutinize the claim application of any class member represented by Pro Athlete or Mr. Levine to assure complete compliance with the rules of the Court as to this Settlement Program, and directs the Claims Administrator to immediately report any violation to the Special Masters, who will then refer the matter to the Court.
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Rule 27 Decision: SPID 100006836
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October 23, 2024
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On Remand, the Special Masters issued a new Audit Rule 27 Decision regarding SPID 100006836, whose claim is implicated in the Byron Cuthbert and Associates, LLC Audit Proceeding. The Decision upholds the denial of the Settlement Class Member’s claim because it is based on documentation determined to be unreliable, as discussed in the Special Masters’ Rule 27 Decision regarding Byron Cuthbert and Associates, LLC.
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Byron Cuthbert and Associates, LLC
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June 28, 2023
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On June 28, 2023, pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules Governing the Audit of Claims, the Special Masters issued a Decision on the Audit Proceeding regarding Byron Cuthbert and Associates, LLC. This Decision is redacted to conceal the identities of certain parties. The Decision directs the Claims Administrator to suspend processing of Monetary Award claims submitted by Settlement Class Members both currently and formerly represented by Mr. Cuthbert, and to deny certain claims that exhibit issues central to the Audit, including those that rely on PET scans from Dr. Daryl Eber of 3T Radiology & Research. The Decision also directs the Claims Administrator, after certification to the Special Masters, to resume processing of claims that are entirely free of the issues discussed in the Audit.
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Drs. Koberda, Hopper, Ford-Johnson, Lloyd, Morgan, and Sadek
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September 14, 2021
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Addresses the medical professionals related to the Audit Proceeding regarding Howard & Associates, P.A. and Related Parties. Disqualifies Drs. Laura Hopper, Lawanda Ford-Johnson, Christine Lloyd, Elizabeth Morgan, and Ahmed Sadek from participating in the Program and directs the referral of Drs. Hopper and Ford-Johnson to their respective professional boards.
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Howard & Associates and Related Parties
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June 22, 2021
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On June 22, 2021, pursuant to Rule 27 of the Rules Governing the Audit of Claims, the Special Masters issued a Decision on the Audit Proceeding regarding Howard & Associates, P.A. and Related Parties. We are making the Special Masters’ Rule 27 Decision, the Rule 15 Adverse Audit Report, and specific exhibits to that Audit Report publicly available. We redacted these materials to conceal the identities of certain parties. Pursuant to the Order Regarding Retention, Exchange, and Confidentiality of Claims Information in NFL Concussion Settlement Program, we redacted the names of all Settlement Class Members as “SCM 1,” “SCM 2,” etc. Pursuant to the Special Masters’ Rule 27 Decision regarding Howard & Associates, P.A. and Related Parties, we redacted the names of health care providers that are named as subjects of the Audit proceeding as “Provider 1,” “Provider 2,” etc. We also redacted the names of employees of Howard & Associates as “Worker 1,” “Worker 2,” etc. Finally, we redacted the names of other health care providers or third parties who are not named as subjects of the Audit proceeding; we did not provide specific contextual identifiers for these redactions. The 21 exhibits we are sharing publicly are examples of those that provide insight into the process Howard & Associates employed that resulted in its disqualification from the Settlement Program.
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Morariu
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October 28, 2019
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Disqualifies Dr. Mircea Morariu, Sr. from participating in the Program and explains the disposition of claims relying on his diagnoses
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Legacy Pro Sports
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October 4, 2019
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Directs the Claims Administrator to place claims from clients of Legacy Pro Sports, LLC, in Audit as a matter of course
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Pollock
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March 12, 2019
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Finds no misrepresentation, omission, or concealment of material fact in claims relying on neuropsychological testing performed by Dr. Larry Pollock
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Fuerst
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March 12, 2019
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Disqualifies neuropsychologist, Dr. Darren Fuerst, from participating in the Program and explains the disposition of claims relying on his evaluations
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Martinez Doctors
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October 25, 2018
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Rescinds all Award and Denial Notices issued for claims based on Qualifying Diagnoses by Dr. Robert Martinez or Robert C. Martinez and directs that such claims be reviewed by a single AAP member, with consultation from a single AAP Consultant
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Andrews
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October 25, 2018
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Disqualifies Dr. Ena Andrews from participating in the Program and explains the disposition of claims relying on her diagnoses
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Template Doctors
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September 11, 2018
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Directs that claims involving seven neuropsychologists who used a common medical record template be reviewed by a single AAP member, with consultation from a single AAP Consultant
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Dolan-Henderson
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August 29, 2018
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Disqualifies neuropsychologist, Dr. August Dolan-Henderson, from participating in the Program and explains the disposition of claims relying on his evaluations
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Hoover
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November 30, 2017
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Disqualifies neuropsychologist, Dr. Serina Hoover, from participating in the Program and explains the disposition of claims relying on her evaluations
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