NHL Players are Entitled to Workers’ Compensation Benefits Just like Other Employees – Injuries do happen in an NHL game, with head injuries the most common among hockey players. Recently, Daniel Sedin, a left-wing Canucks player, was assisted off the ice after receiving a concussion from Duncan Keith’s elbow. Daniel Sedin is the most recent player to suffer from a brain injury that was caused by a co-worker. Hockey fans cannot forget Sidney Crosby, the Winter Olympics Golden Goal, who spent nearly a year recovering from a head injury.
NHL Players are Entitled to Workers’ Compensation Benefits Just like Other Employees
Head Injuries and Hockey Players
It is hard to keep track of the number of head injuries hockey players sustain during a game. The NHL is responsible for properly assessing a player’s injuries as well as taking care of them just like they were regular employees. This is when hockey players would receive workers’ compensation benefits to help pay for their hospital and medical bills. The NHL does not like to use the term such as “brain damage” when they list hockey players’ injuries. They prefer to use “concussion” when they discuss players’ head injuries.
No matter which way you slice it, it’s still brain damage. The brain is composed of delicate tissues, and when excessive force is applied to the skull, the player may experience bleeding in the brain, resetting of their neural circuits, amnesia, and more.
It is staggering how many brain injuries hockey players sustained within a seven-year time period from 1997 to 2004. In the Canadian Medical Association Journal, there is a study that found out of 559 concussions, thirty-four percent felt dizziness, seventy-one percent had headaches, twenty-three percent suffered neck pain, twenty-four percent were nauseous, and twenty-two percent of players experienced blurred vision.
An ice rink is where hockey players work, so how does it differ from a laborer working on a manufacturing line or floor? The answer is that it doesn’t.
When hockey players are injured, they can turn to us.
Our attorneys are part of a team that represents the Professional Hockey Players Association. Professional hockey players who have received injuries during a game can be assured that we will fight to help players receive proper workers’ compensation benefits after they are injured. The PHPA represents over 1,600 players throughout North America to help them with, amongst other things, receiving adequate workers’ compensation benefits to pay for their wages, as well as hospital and medical bills.
There are a lot of questions and possible scenarios when it comes to professional hockey players and their injuries. But one thing is for certain, hockey players who are injured while playing deserve to receive workers’ compensation benefits. Most don’t have control over what the other player is going to do during the game, which often results in serious head injuries. That is why hockey players need to have educated, established representatives working hard on their side when their workers’ compensation claim is denied. How many more players need to sustain brain damage before outside agencies step in?
Read more about the PHPA and our role in the organization here.
Additional Resource: Should Professional Athletes Seek Workers’ Compensation?
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Rest assured, every consultation with us is not only free but also held in the strictest confidence. Let Kaplan Morrell guide you toward the peace of mind and benefits you deserve.
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