[News] Ten former Players sue NHL over concussions

[MissTeeks]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/e...r-concussions/

WASHINGTON — Ten former National Hockey League players are claiming in a class-action lawsuit that the league hasn’t done enough to protect players from concussions.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Washington, seeks damages to be determined at trial. The players are also seeking court-approved medical monitoring for their brain trauma and/or injuries, which they blame on their NHL careers.

The ex-hockey players claim that the NHL purposely concealed the risks of brain injuries faced by players, exposing them to unnecessary dangers.
The NHL didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

[devo22]

came for names, left disappointed

[dissentowner]

I hope these players lose and lose bad! You knew what the risks were when you got into the sport. That would be like me suing the police service if I got shot in the line of duty.

[Drury18]

No names released yet, but I'm expecting to see either Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya or Nick Kypreos on the list.

[saillias]

Any guesses as to who these players are?

I'll bet on Keith Primeau and Eric Lindros.

[MissTeeks]

Keith Primeau is one of my guesses.

[devo22]

do Savard and Pronger already qualify as "former players" in this?

[MissTeeks]

Pierre LeBrun‏@Real_ESPNLeBrun1m
Players in the suit vs. the league: Gary Leeman, Brad Aitken, Darren Banks, Curt Bennett, Richard Dunn, Warren Holmes, Bob Manno, and Blair Stewart, Morris Titanic and Rick Vaive.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by MissTeeks

Pierre LeBrun‏@Real_ESPNLeBrun1m
Players in the suit vs. the league: Gary Leeman, Brad Aitken, Darren Banks, Curt Bennett, Richard Dunn, Warren Holmes, Bob Manno, and Blair Stewart, Morris Titanic and Rick Vaive.

Sounds like players out of money looking for a cash grab.

[pylon]

Morris Titanic.

Great name for a wrestler.

[indes]

Hmm the NHL "concealed" the risk of brain injury from playing a high impact, highly physical, high speed sport? So which Island did the NHL maroon these guys on when they weren't playing games?

[puckluck2]

Good.

[19Yzerman19]

Originally Posted by pylon

Morris Titanic.

Great name for a wrestler.

Glad I was not the only one thinking this.

[MissTeeks]

More here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...board/follows/

Former Toronto Maple Leafs Gary Leeman and Rick Vaive were among the players to file a claim in U.S. District Court in Washington, saying it was time for the NHL to elevate long-term player safety over profit and tradition.

The former NHL players claim that a player can sustain about 1,000 hits to the head during a season without any documented incapacitating concussion and that repeated blows result in permanently impaired brain function.

The players point out in their claim that the NHL has refused to ban fighting while team rosters often include “enforcers” whose main function is to fight.
The claim also states that the NHL purposefully concealed the risks of brain injuries and exposed players to unnecessary dangers they could have avoided.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by MissTeeks

Pierre LeBrun‏@Real_ESPNLeBrun1m
Players in the suit vs. the league: Gary Leeman, Brad Aitken, Darren Banks, Curt Bennett, Richard Dunn, Warren Holmes, Bob Manno, and Blair Stewart, Morris Titanic and Rick Vaive.

lol. I did a quick hockey db check -

Leeman played two more years in Germany after his last NHL game
Aitken played 14 NHL games total, his last one in 1990-91, then played in the AHL/ECHL until 1993
Banks played 20 NHL games in 1993, then went on to play in many different leagues until 2004
Bennett didn't play anywhere else after his NHL career. Google found nothing about concussions
Dunn played two full AHL seasons after his last NHL game
Holmes played two full IHL seasons after his last NHL game (45 in total)
Manno played in Italy for 6 seasons after his NHL career
Stewart played for more than a year in the AHL/CHL after his last NHL game
Titanic (what a name ^^) played in the AHL/IHL for three years after his last NHL game (19 total)
Vaive played another season in the AHL after his last NHL game

plus there's a bunch of guys on that list from the 70s and 80s ... so yeah, good luck with that.

[Fire]

Gary Leeman eh? Maybe that's why he sucked so bad for the Flames. Got hit in the head too often.

[FlameZilla]

Ugh... Gary Leeman.

[troutman]

The players point out in their claim that the NHL has refused to ban fighting while team rosters often include “enforcers” whose main function is to fight.

Insurers will eventually force the NHL to eliminate fighting. I don't know how they can reduce head injuries from body checks. That's much harder to deal with.

[MissTeeks]

Hmmm, CBC says Lindros is one of the 10, not on LeBrun's list.

CBC News Alerts‏@CBCAlerts3m
Eric Lindros among 10 former players suing #NHL. They say league didn't do enough to prevent #concussions. Lawsuit filed in Washington.

[Oling_Roachinen]

I don't have much of an issue with this if their claims have any sort of truth to them.

There's an inherit risk in sports and everyone knows getting hit in the head isn't good but the NHL just can't cover up or misrepresent the dangers.

More and more information is coming out about concussion and brain damage thanks to the current and ongoing research. So if doctors are learning new things about the brain, I don't know why an NHL player should be expected to know more. If the NHL hid or concealed information from the players they should absolutely be liable just like an any other business would be.

I do think it's a bit of stretch to cite their refusal to ban fighting as evidence of anything though.