NHL Hit With New Class Action Lawsuit Over Players’ Head Injuries

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A new concussion class action lawsuit has been filed against the National Hockey League. The proposed lawsuit with 21 plaintiffs, includes former NHL players James Watson, Rob McClanahan, and Steven Dubinsky.

This most recent lawsuit filed Aug. 9 in Minnesota federal court, the same court currently overseeing multidistrict litigation against the NHL over brain injuries, parallels claims that the league failed to protect and educate its players about the inherent risk of head injuries.

Instead, the league allegedly nurtured a culture of violence during games, by permitting and encouraging players to fight during games and ultimately exposing them to unnecessary long-term effects of repetitive head trauma or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

As a result, the new complaint claims that the NHL knew or should have known that fighting can lead to a variety of sustained brain trauma symptoms, including “memory loss, dementia, depression, CTE, and related symptoms, including addiction.”

“It is hypocritical and, in fact, negligent, for the NHL to express concern for player safety on the one hand, and permit and promote fighting on the other,” the complaint states. “Yet, while personal tragedies endured by professional hockey players continues to mount, the NHL still permits and promotes fighting.”

Led by former Detroit Redwings player, James Watson, the 158-page class action lawsuit details the players’ multiple serious head traumas that were improperly diagnosed and treated during their NHL careers.

Among the named plaintiffs is Steven Dubinsky, who sustained a career-ending head injury during a game in 2002 that left him blind in one eye and suffering from persistent headaches and nausea.

Other named plaintiffs, such as Frank Lessard of the Atlanta Thrashers and Iain Duncan who played for the Winnipeg Jets also echo Watson and Dubinsky in claiming they were involved in numerous in-game fights where they sustained multiple head injuries.

According to the class action, instead of eliminating fighting, the NHL enhanced its visibility and sanctioned the fights in an effort to get more fans through the turnstiles.

“By promoting and, in fact, glorifying fighting, the NHL continues to perpetuate its message to players, coaches, and fans that blows to the head should not be considered serious injuries,” the complaint alleges.

The lawsuit filed by Watson and the other named athletes is a member case in the larger multidistrict litigation which even more ex-players contend that the NHL concealed the harmful long-term effects of repeated head injuries and concussions from players.

Watson’s lawsuit comes on the heels of the National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman’s missive to inquiries from Senator Richard Blumenthal, in which Bettman dismissed a linkage between the degenerative brain injury, CTE and the style of play in hockey.

The Watson plaintiffs are represented by attorneys from Zimmerman Reed LLP, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP and Silverman Thompson Slutkin & White LLC. Liaison counsel is from Bassford Remele.

The NHL Concussion Class Action Lawsuit is Veitch v. NHL, Case No. 0:16-cv-02683, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

The consolidated NHL Concussion MDL is In re: National Hockey League Players’ Concussion Injury Litigation, MDL No. 2551, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

UPDATE: On Nov. 6, 2018, a class action lawsuit filed by hundreds of former National Hockey League (NHL) players over concussion and head trauma claims might be ending with a $19 million settlement.