Concussion settlement doesn’t offer much to former pro players

The tentative settlement offering $22,000 to more than 300 former professional hockey players who accused their league of failing to protect them from head injuries is unreasonable, Toronto critical injury lawyer Patrick Brown tells France 24.

When asked for comment by the French news agency, Brown, partner with McLeish Orlando LLP, said the $22,000 each player would be eligible to receive is a “very, very small amount.”

‘Nuisance amount’

“Some would even consider it a nuisance amount of money for someone just to go away,” he tells France 24.

The league announced the settlement for 318 former players in November 2018 but Brown says that former players suffering the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy should consider filing their own lawsuits.

“If they’ve got ongoing problems — difficulties working, difficulties looking after their family, dizziness, tiredness, forgetfulness, all that makes their day-to-day life difficult and problematic — then I would say take a seriously hard look at whether or not you want to pursue [the league] on your own,” he tells the news agency.

But he says he expects the hockey organization will not back down without a fight.

“Please understand they are going to put a defence in front of you,” Brown says. “They are going to fight it for a very long time. It’s going to be extremely expensive and difficult, at times, to face.”