And so it begins

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SKYO
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Re: And so it begins

Post by SKYO »

The original 10 plaintiffs have inflated to more than 200 former NHL players now and will increase...

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl-conc ... 0-players/
The number of former NHL players involved a class-action concussion lawsuit against the league is growing at a rapid rate. Within 48 hours of the suit being filed in a Washington federal court, the original group of 10 plaintiffs had inflated to more than 200, according to one of the lawyers working on the case.

Steven Silverman told Sportsnet on Wednesday afternoon that he expected the total to climb even further by the end of the day.

That revelation came a few hours after Mel Owens, another lawyer representing the players, told Sportsnet in a separate interview that some big names might eventually join in. He also pointed out that the relatively low profile of the 10 initial players named as plaintiffs shouldn’t in any way diminish its importance.

“You don’t have to be famous to be hurt,” said Owens, a former NFL linebacker turned disability lawyer. “You don’t need big names to splash across the lawsuit. These guys have moms, these guys have wives and kids, and so they’re just as important as anybody else.”
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Re: And so it begins

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WOW... I guess having a concussion turns one into a weiny. :drink:
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Re: And so it begins

Post by BurningBeard »

It may be the concussion talking, but I swear I've read this somewhere else.
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Re: And so it begins

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It may be the concussion talking, but I swear I've read this somewhere else.
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Re: And so it begins

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I've called pretty much everyone a weiny at some point over the years BB.

And no, I'm not just saying that to make you feel better....
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Re: And so it begins

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Strangelove wrote:I've called pretty much everyone a weiny at some point over the years BB.

And no, I'm not just saying that to make you feel better....
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Re: And so it begins

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LOL
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Re: And so it begins

Post by Tiger »

Strangelove wrote:WOW... I guess having a concussion turns one into a weiny. :drink:

So now we got a bunch of "pro" athletes claiming they didn't think a physical shot in the head would lead to long term
probleme... What a load of horseshit.. Of course if there is a "payout" it should be in proportion to the amount of shots to the head ? lol... Tiger Williams will get enough to buy his own hockey team ..
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Re: And so it begins

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Bettman is pretty hardcore, it sounds like he won't take the quick way out like the NFL, he will fight/drag this out for eons.
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Re: And so it begins

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The leagues initial statement tried to spread blame to the PA. They also have input on player safety and mandatory equipment. How long did mandatory helmets take to get through the PA. It is a similar scenario with visors.

In the case of the NFL, there was clear evidence of a cover up by the league and when the plaintiffs trot out vegetative players and grieving families, there is a clear winner in the court of public opinion. There were hardass owners in the NFL, I have read Jerry Jones mentioned as one, but having the world largest HD screen in your spiffy new stadium isn't going to win you any favours when America's Team is is going cheap on the wife and kids of a dead lineman who's career spanned one and a half seasons.

I have no doubt the players will win a settlement, probably without seeing a court room. How much of the total is passed onto the PA is the question.
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Re: And so it begins

Post by herb »

The players are making the allegation so they will ultimately have to prove their claims on a balance of probabilities if this ever goes to court. They will have to prove that it is more likely than not that the league is at least partly to blame for their losses. The players will have to prove that the NHL knew or reasonably “ought to” have known playing would cause injury and failed to take reasonable and prudent steps to mitigate or remove those risks.

Reasonableness here would be an interesting interpretation for a judge. It is reasonable to expect injury from playing any sport. The players voluntarily assumed the risk of playing contact hockey and a reasonable player would know there are risks.

IMO the NHL will be able to significantly reduce their liability because the players through the NHLPA significantly contributed to the way the game was played. The league can only enact equipment and rule changes with the approval of the PA. The league may also say they cannot control how players play, and can only issue penalties after the fact. The players have had a strong union, yet it has been the league pushing safety changes not the PA.

I think if this ever goes to court, the league will be able to show that this is an evolving area of understanding. They have not gone to any extremes to prevent head injuries, but they did institute reasonable and prudent safety measures as they became available (helmets, visors, blindside hits to the head rules). If it weren’t for the league, players would still be skating out there without helmets.

I think the NHL is in a better place than the NFL was. IMO the league is partly to blame, but so is the PA/players. The games are different beasts (i.e. no linemen or running backs taking hits to the head EVERY play), and the NFL has a documented history or at least the image that it covered up head injuries for years. I think an out of court settlement is likely, but I don’t think it’s a slam dunk case.
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Re: And so it begins

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Like the NFL was rumoured to be planning, if this were to go to court, the league would apply to split the class action and hear each case on it's merits highlighting minor hockey injuries any individual player may have received.

But like the NFL, this won't see a court room.
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Re: And so it begins

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Vaive has asked that his name be removed from the law suit.

Would Harold Ballard call this the raping of the case?
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Re: And so it begins

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Of the original 10 names, Vaive's and Leeman's were the only ones I knew.....

Steve Moore is behind this.
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Re: And so it begins

Post by Per »

I'm torn.

On the one hand, I agree that the league has done too little too late to address the problem. People who have had repeated concussions get a reduced life quality, are at high risk for Alzheimer's and Parkinson, and often die several years too early. My dad, who played chess at a fairly high level, suffered a concussion in the 80's, and it took him ten years to get back to the same rating that he had before the concussion. Says something about how it damages the brain. A female collegue of mine is married to a former hockey player, who played professionally in Germany's top league and had his career ended by concussions. He got the first one in a game, then a second one as he was practicing to return, a team mate ran him into the boards during practice... :roll:

She's said that in hindsight they should have sued him. In part for being an idiot and an asshole, but mainly because there is no reason or excuse for running a team mate into the boards like that during practice, and especially not one who has recently had a concussion... He couldn't do anything for two years. Constant head ache, couldn't focus, no energy. They had just had their first child, and she had to support them by working while also fixing everything at home. He had quit high school to focus on hockey, now his career was over, and no, a couple of years in the German DEL league does not mean you're set for life. His better now though, after two years of just being sick, he went back to get his high school diploma and now he has just finished law school and gotten his first job after hockey.

So yeah, concussions are a bitch, and hockey needs to do everything possible to prevent them. And you may recall that I've been bitching for years that the NHL needs to ban head shots. They finally did, but they're still not good at enforcing the role in a consistent and predictable way.

On the other hand, the players knew what they were getting themselves into, and the main reason (apart from some arenas using glass instead of plexi) players get concussions are other players not showing them the respect they should. Bobby Orr claims concussions were rare when he played, and they didn't even have helmets.... He says the difference is that back then you always checked shoulder to shoulder. You didn't place your shoulder in another players face. And, yeah, he claims you can avoid that. Perhaps not every single time, but as a rule. Thus the players, as a collective, at least in part have themselves to blame.

That being said, when a teenager or 20-yo gets a shot at playing in the NHL, they don't think about getting injured for life, they just want to play the game and be the best that they can be. The league does have an obligation to make sure these kids can play he game without risking their life.
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