Insurers Pay $700K to Settle Case over Massachusetts Coach’s Fatal Illness

A nearly $700,000 agreement between the family of late Holy Cross football coach Dan Allen and two insurers for the contractor the family alleges contributed to his fatal illness has been approved by a federal judge in Massachusetts.

U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor on Wednesday approved the settlement, which requires AIG and Zurich to pay Allen’s family $681,250.

Allen died in May 2004 at age 48. The family’s lawsuit claimed work done by Martin Surfacing Inc. at the school’s field house in 2001, where his office was located, accelerated the coach’s death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, by exposing him to toxins.

The family’s lawyer said while no amount of money can compensate for the loss, the family is pleased with the ruling.