Derek Boogaard's family files lawsuit against NHL: report

[alp227]

Source: CBC

The National Hockey League has been hit by a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of late enforcer Derek Boogaard, a story the New York Times reported on Sunday.

The family says the NHL is responsible for the brain damage that Boogaard sustained during six seasons as an enforcer in the league, and for his addiction to prescription painkillers.

Paperwork for the legal action, the paper said, was entered in Cook County, Ill., by the same Chicago law firm that brought a similar case against the National Football League on behalf of the late Dave Duerson, a Chicago Bears player who killed himself in 2011.

Boogaard’s body was discovered on May 13, 2011 at his apartment in Minneapolis. He was adjudged to have died from an accidental overdose of prescription pain killers and alcohol.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/story/2013/05/12/sp-nhl-boogaard.html

[MrSlayer]

1. The NHL did not make him play.

Nor did they force him to be a drug addict.

It's a shame for Mr. Boogaard but it isn't the fault of the league. I hate these lawsuits, you know perfectly well what you're getting into when playing pro sports, especially the hard contact sports.

[Spider Jerusalem]

2. Except you frequently don't know exactly what you're getting into

see for instance the current class-action suit against the NFL for covering up and minimising the risks of repeated head trauma and concussion. There's a strong argument that the league and the individual teams have a duty of care to not put players who've been concussed back in in the next game and to provide better monitoring of injury. Sure, if you're an NHL enforcer, you're probably going to get your bell rung, you expect it, but you probably don't expect that you'll have cognitive impairment and long-term brain damage as a result because that's not a risk that's generally mentioned.

[bluemarkers]

3. exactly

up until just recently the long term damage was over looked among other things....

(my son played college ball) - beginning at the collegiate level, athletes are owned by the team. Yes, kids can walk away - but you try walking away from your dreams... the big leagues know this. Remember the vast majority of players are there to provide support for the bonus babies. The "regular" kids, those that have no prospect, suffer long term injuries with little to no compensation. imo, the nfl and the nhl need to come clean about head injuries.

[Doctor_J]

5. Sorry, but Boogie and his entire family had to know what was happening

More than ten years of concussions, blackouts, depression, fractured knuckles, disfigured hands, lost teeth, constant pain, and increasing drug addiction provided ample warning to even the deepest deniers. He even has a brother who is trying to follow in his footsteps (or did as of a year or so ago).

His death is a horrible tragedy, but he or a loved one could/should have pulled the plug anywhere along the line.

[Myrina]

4. At what point does his family become liable also ...

... for not getting him into treatment if they recognized an addiction problem? The NHL didn't keep him locked away in a dungeon between games/seasons ... surely those that saw him regularly noticed something(s) was/were not right over time.

To get to the NHL, these guys start playing when they're 4-5 years old. By the time they reach the NHL, 20+ years later, they - and their families - have seen enough to know what goes on for the sake of a 'win', and what players' various "roles" are. They're just as culpable as the league, or any team, in not stopping him from being an 'enforcer'/playing/addressing the injuries & addiction, IMHO.