• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
News

NHL Announces Tentative Deal in Concussion Lawsuit

By Jim Parsons November 12th, 2018

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

On Monday, the National Hockey League announced they’ve reached a tentative settlement in a five-year-old brain injury lawsuit which began back in November of 2013. Over 100 former players (318 plaintiffs) brought the suit forth to the NHL after alleging the league did not do enough to warn players of the dangers of repeated head trauma and how to handle injuries to the head during their playing careers. The players held that the NHL should have provided more education on the matter so that they could then make better choices as it pertained to their futures.

In a statement released by the NHL, they announced the potential settlement had been reached “after months of court-ordered mediation.” They added:

“The NHL does not acknowledge any liability for any of Plaintiffs’ claims in these cases. However, the parties agree that the settlement is a fair and reasonable resolution and that it is in the parties’ respective best interests to receive the benefits of the settlement and to avoid the burden, risk and expense of further litigation.”

As Greg Wyshykski reports, the court documents list the settlement at $16,910,800.00, which after broken into a number of subparts cannot exceed $18.922 million. Ironically, Wyszynski also points out this settlement was reached an announced on the day Gary Bettman goes into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The NHL settlement, according to docs: $16,910,800.00. Here's how it breaks down financially: pic.twitter.com/DHr6EuxqHA

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) November 12, 2018

Related: NHL Rumors: Skinner, Quenneville, Bruins, Kings, More

What’s Next for the Players?

Participation in the settlement is voluntary. Players can choose to accept and then split the financial total, or players could separately pursue personal injury claims. Those who accept will receive neuropsychological testing funded by the NHL, including transportation to medical facilities, up to $75,000 in medical treatment expenses for each person who tests positive on two or more of 13 cognitive/behavorial assessment exams, total cash payments of $6.996 million, broken down to $22,000 per individual and waived attorney fees ($6.95 million total).

Concussions and head injuries are a hot topic in sports medicine.

In addition, players with additional needs can access a “common good” fund, into which more than $2.5 million was deposited. This will be available to any suffering players, not just those who sued or were part of the action against the NHL.

If not enough players choose to accept the deal, the NHL has retained “walkaway rights”, which is not uncommon for a major settlement like this. Plaintiff lawyer Charles Zimmerman did suggest that the players and the league would want to settle in this instance and “walk away rights” won’t come into play.

“I’m very pleased that we could accomplish something for the betterment of the players and the betterment of the game,”  on Monday morning. “That was our goal and I think we achieved our goal.”

Related: The NHL and Gary Bettman: 25 Years of Progress and Controversy

What’s Next for the League

While some have compared this lawsuit to the one settled by the NFL years ago, there are some key differences. First, the NFL claimed responsibility whereas the NHL has not. The amounts handed out to the players are uniquely different but there’s still enough here that the NHL needs to take a good long look at their safety protocols moving forward.

Gary Bettman

Gary Bettman, NHL Commissioner, 2018 NHL Draft, Dallas, TX, June 22, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The league already has a strict policy of pulling players from games if there is the concern of any form of concussion and while the players might not like the strictness of that policy, this lawsuit only goes to show that the NHL will need to continue with their testing and policies, if not improve them to avoid this sort of issue in the future and police competitive players from themselves.

Prior to this settlement, Bettman often tried to dismiss the claims and say the suit was without merit. He likely won’t be doing that any longer. That said, this settlement is basically his way of saying, ‘It’s not our fault but we’ll pay you to go away.’

Unfortunately, concussions in hockey is not about to go away and while this settlement does deal with the problem immediately facing the NHL, there’s a lot of work to be done to help keep the players safe in a game where concussions happen regularly.

  • Tags
  • Concussions
  • Gary Bettman
  • Top Story
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 26th 6:20 PM
Calgary Flames

Tkachuk Shows His Ignorance Discussing Maple Leafs’ Campbell Injury

Jan 26th 6:10 PM
Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights Reaping the Rewards of Zach Whitecloud’s Development

Jan 26th 6:00 PM
Buffalo Sabres

Sabres Outlook After First 6 Games of 2020-21

Jan 26th 5:50 PM
Winnipeg Jets

Jets’ 2021 Offseason Free Agent Preview

Jan 26th 5:05 PM
Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks Unlikely to Call Up Former Fan Favourite Darling

Jan 26th 4:40 PM
Archives

The NHL’s Best Farm Systems Ranked – 2020-21 Season Update

Jan 26th 4:32 PM
Archives

Jimmy Howard’s Red Wings Legacy

Jan 26th 4:25 PM
Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins Not Playing to Full Potential in Comeback Wins

Jan 26th 4:15 PM
Colorado Avalanche

Mediocre Avalanche Road Trip Plagued by Inconsistency

Jan 26th 4:05 PM
Buffalo Sabres

Sabres Coach Ralph Krueger is a Jack of All Trades

Editor’s Picks
Wayne Gretzky - The Great One's 10 Most Unbreakable Records

Wayne Gretzky - The Great One's 10 Most Unbreakable Records

Test Your Wayne Gretzky Knowledge With Our Quiz

Test Your Wayne Gretzky Knowledge With Our Quiz

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information