NHL, Ex-Players Reach $18.9M Concussion Settlement

The National Hockey League and hundreds of its retired players reached a tentative $18.9 million settlement in concussion litigation that will provide medical monitoring for players with chronic brain illnesses and cash payments for diagnosed degenerative brain illnesses.

The settlement covering as many as 318 ex-players was announced Nov. 12 after months of court-ordered mediation. If approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, it could bring an end to four years of contentious litigation.

But that isn’t a certainty. The deal also gives any non-settling player the option to go to trial on claims that the NHL knew about the long-term brain risks caused by repetitive head trauma in the sport but didn’t adequately warn or protect players for decades.

“This settlement is very good for players because they will receive important information regarding their cognitive health and should they have evidence of cognitive impairment they are eligible for treatment, all paid for by the NHL under this settlement,” plaintiffs’ lead counsel Charles Zimmerman, of Zimmerman Reed in Minneapolis, told Bloomberg Law Nov. 12.

Those who participate in the deal must agree to dismissal of their cases against the NHL, but “pending or future workers compensation claims, and unrelated business disputes, are not released as the result of this settlement,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers said Nov. 12 in a joint statement.

The NHL also retained the right to terminate the settlement if more players choose to go to trial than agree to settle.

The settlement was “just announced today so we do not know if any ex-NHL players will decide not to accept the settlement and go to trial,” Zimmerman said. “I am certain some will exercise that option, just do not know who or how many.”

In a separate Nov. 12 press release, the NHL cautioned that it “does not acknowledge any liability for any of plaintiffs’ claims in these cases.”

“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,” the NHL said.

Five Benefits

The settlement in the multidistrict litigation has five principal benefits for those who choose to participate, lawyers for the ex-players said in a joint statement.

They include free neuropsychological testing and assessments for all participants, up to $75,000 for medical treatments for players who test positive for the chronic brain illness, and an unspecified cash payment to each player who elects to participate.

Players who elect to participate “will not have to pay any attorneys’ fees or costs out of the benefits they receive, as all such amounts will be covered by the NHL under the settlement,” lawyers for the plaintiffs said.

The settlement also will create a “Common Good Fund” available to “support the health and welfare of any retired NHL player in need, including those who did not participate in the MDL proceedings.”

Retired players will receive medical testing and treatment paid for by the NHL, “which was the primary relief sought by players in the MDL proceedings,” the lawyers said.

Trials Short-Circuited

The ex-players say the link between repetitive head traumas and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is well established, citing brain studies of deceased pro hockey players.

The retirees also say the NHL profited at the expense of their health by promoting and glorifying violence in the sport and tolerating on-ice fist-fights.

The league has denied those allegations, insisting that a causative link between playing ice hockey and the development of CTE hasn’t been scientifically proven.

The players’ claims lost some steam in July, when the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota denied class certification in the case.

That meant the retired players could still proceed with their cases individually, but without the settlement leverage of a class action.

They they also assumed the burden of proving later-life brain illness were caused during their pro hockey careers, as opposed to their collegiate and youth league play.

Other legal hurdles also could have short-circuited the cases before trial. The NHL has argued, for example, that collective bargaining agreements between the league and its players governed the injury claims, barring the tort actions altogether.

Representation of the ex-NHL players also includes Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin & White, and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, as well as Faegre Baker Daniels and Proskauer Rose represent the NHL.

The case is In re Nat’l Hockey League Players’ Concussion Injury Litig., D. Minn., No. 14-md-02551, tentative settlement announced 11/12/18.