SBNation.com - NHL concussion lawsuit grows to more than 200 former playershttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46737/sbn-fave.png2013-11-29T13:21:08-05:00http://www.sbnation.com/rss/stream/49099032013-11-29T13:21:08-05:002013-11-29T13:21:08-05:00Rick Vaive wants out of NHL lawsuit
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<figcaption>Bruce Bennett</figcaption>
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<p>After all news for several days seemed to be in favor of the pending lawsuit against the NHL, a chink in the armor has appeared in the form of a major name wanting out.</p> <p>Thursday evening ESPN's Pierre LeBrun broke the startling news that Rick Vaive, one of the leading names in the lawsuit pending against the National Hockey League over their handling of concussions, wants his name removed from the list of players associated with it.</p>
<p>LeBrun spoke with Vaive's lawyer, who clarified that he has requested to remove himself from the lawsuit entirely, and there is paperwork to accomplish that process.</p>
<p>With Vaive being one of the 10 players initially named in the suit, and a representative of the players, this move is very surprising, and perhaps an omen of things to come. On Wednesday, lawyers representing the players noted that their group had grown to over 200 former players, which made it sound like their case was very strong and getting stronger. Now with one of the marquee names taking himself out of before litigation even begins, questions abound.</p>
<p>Vaive has not commented on his decision.</p>
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https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2013/11/29/5157478/nhl-concussion-lawsuit-rick-vaive-wants-outAndrew Berkshire2013-11-27T16:42:36-05:002013-11-27T16:42:36-05:00Players' lawyer gives first interview
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<figcaption>Bruce Bennett</figcaption>
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<p>Mel Owens, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs suing the NHL over concussions, appeared on Sportsnet's Hockey Central at Noon. Here's what he had to say.</p> <p>Mel Owens, a lawyer for the 200+ players suing the NHL over concussions, joined Nick Kypreos, Daren Millard, and Doug MacLean on Hockey Central at Noon. <span>Owens is a workers compensation lawyer, which got MacLean's back up right away. What resulted was a fairly interesting, if not so enlightening, conversation.</span></p>
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<p align="left">Doug MacLean put his foot in his mouth on several occasions, saying that while he was a coach in the AHL his players were running a "scam" where they were claiming workers compensation for minor injuries. Millard told him to be cautious about using the word scam, and Owens mentioned that in any other work situation, cuts and scrapes do in fact qualify for workers compensation.</p>
<p>MacLean may have provided the perfect fodder for Owens. As a representative of the old school viewpoints of the NHL, he seemed completely out of touch with the reality of how players feel they have no choice but to play when injured, especially in the past.</p>
<p>Kypreos pointed out that at one point, your job security could depend on whether or not you were willing to play injured.</p>
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https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2013/11/27/5152886/nhl-concussion-lawsuit-players-lawyer-appears-on-hockey-central-at-noonAndrew Berkshire2013-11-27T16:24:15-05:002013-11-27T16:24:15-05:00NHL concussion lawsuit grows to 200 players
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<figcaption>Aaron Vincent Elkaim</figcaption>
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<p>The number of players involved with the lawsuit against the NHL has grown drastically, according to Chris Johnson of Sportsnet.</p> <p>After an initial group of just 10 former players began a lawsuit against the NHL for concussion related injuries, lawyers representing them began to reach out to former players in order to grow their numbers, and it appears that they have succeeded.</p>
<p><font color="#c8181d">T</font>he suit has now grown to more than 200 former players, <a style=" href=" target="_blank">according to a Wednesday report by Sportsnet's Chris Johnson reported.</a> One representative, Steve Silverman, told Sportsnet that he expected that number to grow even more by as soon as the end of the day.</p>
<p>Not much more information is available yet, and no names have been given among the incredible number of new plaintiffs, but we will keep you up to date as soon as that changes.</p>
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https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2013/11/27/5152690/nhl-concussion-lawsuit-more-than-200-players-now-involved-and-growingAndrew Berkshire2013-11-25T19:03:14-05:002013-11-25T19:03:14-05:00League responds to concussion suit
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<figcaption>Christian Petersen</figcaption>
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<p>The NHL responded to the class-action lawsuit filed against it on Monday.</p> <p>10 former NHL players filed a class-action lawsuit against the league on Monday, claiming that the NHL is at fault for their handling of concussion and player safety issues over the years. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly released a statement hours after the lawsuit became public, defending the league's handling of player safety issues.</p>
<p>"We are aware of the class action lawsuit filed today in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of a group of former NHL players," said Daly. "While the subject matter is very serious, we are completely satisfied with the responsible manner in which the League and the Players' Association have managed player safety over time, including with respect to head injuries and concussions.</p>
<p>"We intend to defend the case vigorously and have no further comment at this time."</p>
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https://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2013/11/25/5145750/nhl-concussion-lawsuit-league-statement-2013Travis Hughes2013-11-25T17:46:01-05:002013-11-25T17:46:01-05:00Ex-NHLers sue league over concussions
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<figcaption>Bruce Bennett</figcaption>
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<p>10 former NHL players have sued the league, claiming that they concealed the dangers of brain trauma.</p> <p>Ten former NHL players filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington Monday, claiming that the NHL "purposely concealed the risks of brain injuries faced by players," <a target="_blank" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/apnewsbreak-ex-nhlers-sue-league-212816448--nhl.html">the Associated Press reports</a>.</p>
<p>ESPN <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Real_ESPNLeBrun/status/405099722525773825">reported</a> the names of the ten players, whose careers spanned three decades, from 1970 to 1997.</p>
<ul>
<li>Gary Leeman, 667 NHL games from 1982 to 1997. </li>
<li>Darren Banks, 20 NHL games from 1992 to 1994.</li>
<li>Curt Bennett, 580 NHL games from 1970 to 1980.</li>
<li>Richie Dunn, 483 NHL games from 1977 to 1989.</li>
<li>Warren Holmes, 45 NHL games from 1981 to 1984.</li>
<li>Bob Manno, 371 NHL games from 1976 to 1985.</li>
<li>Blair Stewart, 229 NHL games from 1973 to 1980.</li>
<li>Morris Titanic, 19 NHL games from 1974 to 1976.</li>
<li>Rick Vaive, 876 games from 1979 to 1992. </li>
</ul>
<p>A similar lawsuit between the NFL and a group of more than 4,500 players was <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/8/29/4672288/nfl-concussion-lawsuit-settlement">settled in August</a>, with the NFL paying $765 million to that group. This is obviously a much smaller group of players, but it is a class-action suit, meaning that more players can sign on. Just 75 players initially filed the NFL suit, so it's likely that more NHL players will sign on here.</p>
<p>Many of the claims are similar, namely, that the league not only knew about risks of brain injury, but purposefully kept those risks from players, exposing them to further danger.</p>
<p>Concussions and player safety in general have been a hot topic in the NHL of late. Gary Bettman is on record saying that the league has taken steps forward in terms of concussion awareness and player safety, but Monday's lawsuit points out that the NHL has not placed an outright ban on fighting, seen as a chief cause of concussions in hockey.</p>
<p>The full lawsuit can be viewed here:</p>
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https://www.sbnation.com/2013/11/25/5145480/nhl-concussions-lawsuit-2013Travis Hughes