So far, around 20 lawsuits have been filed against the National Football League by former professional football players who say that they are suffering long-term effects from repeated head injuries.

The players accuse the NFL of knowing for a long time that repeated concussions can lead to permanent brain injuries, but not doing anything about this knowledge or to more proactively prevent long-term brain injuries during football practice and games until recently.

Recently, a panel of federal judges ruled to consolidate the lawsuits so far, which involve around 600 ex-NFL players and their wives.

The players say that the concussions and brain injuries that they suffered have now led to lingering health problems, including memory loss, depression and migraine headaches.

The next step for the consolidated lawsuits will be to establish an executive committee and a plan for litigation. The consolidated case will then be moved to Philadelphia. A judge there will consider the NFL's motion to dismiss the lawsuit and decide whether the case against them can proceed.

The NFL says that these cases of player injuries should be subject to closed-door arbitration as is laid out in union agreements. There is also a separate lawsuit in the works against the maker of NFL helmets, Riddell.

Source: The Miami Herald, "Player lawsuits against NFL to be consolidated," Adam H. Beasley, Jan. 31, 2012