Gone - Players' Tribune Article by Carcillo

Postby **the wicked child** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 8:01 am

Unless I'm missing something, that hardly looks like a hit that should have caused a concussion...

Postby **Avyran** » Tue May 12, 2015 9:57 am

Krembil's Neuroscience Centre, to which Steve Montador had committed brain for research, releases results: Found CTE

Lawyer on behalf of Steve Montador's estate, Bill Gibbs, confirms to ESPN that his firm, Corboy & Demetrio, will be filing lawsuit vs. NHL

Bill Gibbs (Corboy & Demetrio) also represents the estate of Derek Boogaard in wrongful death suit vs. NHL, which is still in litigation

I didn't know what CTE was...

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including symptomatic concussions as well as asymptomatic subconcussive hits to the head. CTE has been known to affect boxers since the 1920s. However, recent reports have been published of neuropathologically confirmed CTE in retired professional football players and other athletes who have a history of repetitive brain trauma.

Postby **shmenguin** » Tue May 12, 2015 10:08 am

what is the nature of the lawsuit? i don't understand what grounds they have. even the meat heads in the league now are fighting to keep themselves in the game that may kill them.

Postby **Avyran** » Tue May 12, 2015 10:18 am

Checking TSN's article:

The players, whose claims have not been proven, allege that the NHL did not do enough to protect them from head injuries before it created a committee to study head trauma in 1997. Even after that, the players charge the committee's findings were not disclosed until 2011 and even then were not adequately shared with players.

[Next part comes first in the article, but I thought the players' charge should come first to answer your question.]

The NHL has claimed in legal pleadings that former players who are suing the league over how it handled concussions and head trauma injuries ought to have been able to "put two and two together," thanks to newspaper and magazine stories and other news reports.

But in legal filings the league also quotes NHL commissioner Gary Bettman saying it’s premature to draw links between fighting and head injuries and long-term such as CTE because more research is needed.

Also did a quick check on Wiki for Boogaard's family's case.

In September 2012, the Boogaards filed a lawsuit against the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), in Los Angeles seeking $9.8 million in damages. They alleged that the union was negligent in failing to file a grievance against the Rangers, as they advised the Boogaards they would, after their son's death for the balance of the money on his contract. While it only named the NHLPA as a defendant, there was speculation that it would raise issues about the culpability of both teams, the league and the drug treatment facility that Boogaard attended. The Boogaards' lawyer declined to say whether additional suits were being planned; the union said the suit was without merit. Early in 2013 it was dismissed; the judge ruled that the Boogaards had waited too long to make their claim.

Shortly afterwards, the Boogaards filed a new suit, this time against the NHL. In a case brought in an Illinois state court by the firm representing former NFL players in their lawsuit against their league over concussion injuries, they alleged wrongful death against the league. The suit claimed that indiscriminate prescriptions for painkillers issued to Boogaard by Wild and Rangers' team physicians had led to his addiction, and that the drug treatment programs Boogaard had been sent to took any action to discipline him despite being aware of multiple rule violations and failed drug tests. Lastly, the Boogaards said the league should have been aware of the increased risks of concussions faced by enforcers. They did not name a specific amount of damages sought, instead asking that it be left to a jury to determine.

Postby **shmenguin** » Tue May 12, 2015 12:21 pm

seems pretty flimsy. everyone knew that getting punched in the head was unhealthy for their brains. but they desperately wanted to do this for a living. ineffective treatment centers? i guess that's a problem, but that's not the league's fault.

i feel bad for his family, but this is caveat emptor.

Postby **Jim** » Tue May 12, 2015 1:32 pm

My office doesn't offer special carpel tunnel rehab or special chiropractic support for poor posture at the keyboard...

Postby **llipgh2** » Tue May 12, 2015 1:44 pm

Wouldn't they have a better case against the team doctors, who prescribed drugs without regard to his history of abuse (read about this in the other article about him)? I see where they could sue for negligence. This lawsuit seems likes it's all over the place.

Postby **Avyran** » Fri May 22, 2015 11:17 am

Bettman's getting ripped again for a statement he made yesterday. Quoting the majority of important stuff so you don't need to read the article. Question came up because, well... Steve Montador & Chicago.

“From a medical science standpoint, there is no evidence yet that one necessarily leads to the other,” said Bettman to reporters on hand. “I know there are a lot of theories, but if you ask people who study it, they tell you there is no statistical correlation that can definitively make that conclusion.”

[Requoting David Haugh of LA Times] It's amazing Bettman could be heard speaking, what with his head in the sand. Even if Bettman was doing nothing more than publicly laying groundwork for an NHL legal defense, to claim with such authority that concussions might have no connection to CTE defied logic. Even if Bettman can find scientists to support his claim, dismissing CTE as a potential result of multiple concussions hardly reflects a man paid well to protect the game.

Bettman stuck his foot in his mouth here a bit, as no logical analysis of the brain damage we’ve seen in contact sports where the head is targeted could indicate anything but a link between CTE and fequent brain injuries.

But he’s tackled this subject in a more nuanced way in the past, and that might have been where he was going here. Like when Bettman said we shouldn’t “over-conclude when the data isn’t there” on CTE following the deaths of Wade Belak, Rick Rypien and Boogaard in 2011.

The fact is that the links between concussions in sports and genetics, and especially within the context of CTE, were still being debated in the medical community in 2014. The question the league’s had about that science is whether some athletes are more genetically predisposed to suffer certain types of brain injuries and whether CTE is only a threat to a specific portion of the NHL population when their playing days are over.

Postby **meow** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 11:31 am

Good stuff.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhlpa-readies-3m-back ... m-1.303734

Postby **shmenguin** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 1:21 pm

Good stuff.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhlpa-readies-3m-back ... m-1.303734

seems a little bit like a token move.

also not sure what the link is between this and concussions.

Postby **meow** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 1:42 pm

It beats the pants off sitting around do nothing.

Postby **columbia** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 2:02 pm

One of the biggest problems with the NHL is that - whether it's at the team or league level - they have far too many former players in a position of authority. Aside from the more than sketchy preparation of knowing how to run a business, the knucklehead old boys club keeps rolling along to the detriment of everyone.

Postby **shmenguin** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 3:38 pm

One of the biggest problems with the NHL is that - whether it's at the team or league level - they have far too many former players in a position of authority. Aside from the more than sketchy preparation of knowing how to run a business, the knucklehead old boys club keeps rolling along to the detriment of everyone.

so you think guys who don't even necessarily have a high school education aren't qualified to be executives?