The NHL has reached a settlement with 318 former players, who claimed the league was negligent in its prevention and subsequent treatment of concussions, and that the league fraudulently concealed the long-term impact of the head injuries, while promoting the violent nature of the sport.
The terms of the settlement called for the players to receive $18.9 million.
The NHL released a written statement about the ruling in which it said it “does not acknowledge any liability for any of the 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.”
Meanwhile, plaintiffs lawyer Charles Zimmerman of Zimmerman Reed LLP in Minneapolis told the Associated Press that the settlement was “a very appropriate result and a good outcome in a very contested, hotly litigated matter. The main goal in the case was to get medical testing and treatment for the players, something that the NHL wouldn’t agree to for the four years that we’d been litigating and that’s what we achieved.”
Specifically, each of the 318 former players who opt into the settlement will receive approximately $22,000 and potentially an additional $75,000 for medical treatment, if eligible. In order to receive the additional $75,000, players would have to test positive for degenerative brain diseases. Finally, the NHL agreed to create a $2.5 million “Common Good Fund” for retired NHL players in need, including those who did not participate in the litigation.
Shortly after the news, comparisons were being made between the NHL deal and the NFL settlement, which surpassed $1 billion. The primary reason for the disparity may have been the fact that attorneys for the NHL players failed to secure class-action status earlier this year, which would have pushed the number of plaintiffs into the thousands. A secondary reason was the desire for a quick resolution, where the settlement was not consumed by testing costs and attorney fees.
Vanderbilt University sports economics professor John Vrooman told the Associated Press that the NHL emerged with “a lopsided victory” in that owners gained “current and future protection from damages.”
The 56-page settlement agreement can be viewed at https://nhl.bamcontent.com/images/assets/binary/301855936/binary-file/file.pdf
