A former NFL player is suing Lloyd’s of London for denying a $1-million insurance policy for professional athletes, according to a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review report.
Former Carolina Panthers defensive back Haruki Nakamura suffered a career-ending concussion during a preseason game in August of 2013. The NFL declared Nakamura fully and permanently disabled and awarded him monthly benefits.
Lloyd’s, however, disagreed. The company’s medical expert ruled in 2015 that Nakamura could return to play. According to the Tribune-Review, the Lloyd’s doctor thought Nakamura was exaggerating his symptoms, and that concussions he had suffered in college contributed to the condition.
Nakamura, however, said he’s dealing with headaches, vision problems, depression, fatigue and suicidal thoughts in the wake of his 2013 concussion. He was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome by a sports concussion expert after the injury.
Nakamura had paid Lloyd’s $17,000 per year for the policy in 2012 and 2013, the Tribune-Review reported. His attorneys, who specialize in insurance policies for athletes, said they’d never seen an insurer reject a policy when both a doctor and the NFL considered an athlete’s injury to be career-ending.
Nakamura could also seek payment under the NFL’s $1-billion court settlement for concussion claims, the Tribune-Review reported. However, that $1 billion has to cover more than 20,000 NFL retirees for the next 65 years.
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