NFL Retirees Struggle to Receive Disability Benefits, Ashmore Case Reaffirms

The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) is the labor organization that represents current and former NFL players all around the country. One of its most important duties is making certain NFL players with disabilities are provided the long term disability insurance coverage they need to live comfortably and make ends meet after suffering a serious and permanent injury – most often a brain injury that causes cognitive impairment. According to multiple studies and the words of NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith, the percentage of NFL players who end up with a serious injury is close to 100%.

It is highly problematic, then, that so many NFL players struggle to get any disability coverage at all after play becomes impossible due to an injury. Not only is continued football play unsafe, but so is any sort of gainful employment for most retired players. The overly-complicated and stubborn disability insurance program has recently been brought to the world’s attention due to Darryl Ashmore’s case, which Dabdoub Law Firm and our long term disability attorneys were tasked to manage on his behalf.

Ashmore’s Case Gets Eventual Approval – But Not by NFL

Darryl Ashmore has symptoms of strong early onset dementia due to 11 years of NFL play. He struggles each day to due depression, amnesia, nausea, chronic pain, and many more severe symptoms. Despite all the indicators of both his long term disability and its relation to his occupation in the NFL, Ashmore’s disability claim was denied, forcing him to explore his options with appeals. This brought him to Dabdoub Law Firm, the trusted name in long term disability claim representation across the nation.

The NFL Disability Plan – or just the Plan, as it is often called – tried everything to make life difficult for our client, Mr. Ashmore. Knowing he could only sit for brief durations before suffering terrible back and neck pain, the Plan tried to schedule multiple checkups in multiple states for Ashmore, rather than just choosing clinics near his Florida home. They also tried to frame Ashmore into looking like he was uncooperative, when he had actually gone above and beyond what any disability insurance plan should reasonably ask of a client.

Our disability benefits lawyers of Dabdoub Law Firm knew the NFL Disability Plan was not going to back down or look for a fair settlement. It had intentionally dug itself into denying his claim and making Ashmore’s life difficult, so we got right to work collecting evidence and planning legal strategies. With our great recordkeeping abilities and advanced legal knowledge, we were able to show the truth to the court — that the Plan took intentional steps to reduce his likelihood of receiving long term disability benefits for his chronic pain, cognitive impairment, and so forth.

It is with much pride that we can announce that on June 15^th, 2018, Ashmore’s disability claim was finally approved, but due to courtroom intervention. Judge Kenneth Marra sided with Dabdoub Law Firm and Ashmore, granting a summary judgement in his favor and denying a cross-motion and a motion to strike filed by the defendant.

(You can learn more about the Ashmore case by clicking here and reading a full article from the Advocacy for Fairness in Sports online news feed.)

Significance of the Ashmore Case Victory

While it is obviously a boon for former NFL player Darryl Ashmore to finally receive the disability benefits he deserves, the impact of this case goes much further than his personal life. At Dabdoub Law Firm, our long term disability insurance lawyers and ERISA attorneys are entirely dedicated to fighting for the rights of disabled workers in all sorts of occupations and who live with all types of debilitating medical conditions. Our recent victory in the uphill Ashmore case against a powerful defendant like the NFL Disability Plan shows that what we do matters, and that everyone should have hope after their claims are denied. With the right legal team by your side, you can confidently stand up for your rights and seek the long term disability benefits you need and deserve.