National Hockey League sued after death of former player, league to officially face trial

Sadly, next week will mark the eight-year anniversary of former Blackhawks defenseman Steve Montador's death. Tragically Montador died from an accidentally overdose and it was later announced that Montador suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy otherwise known as CTE.

During his fourteen-year playing career Montador had suffered eleven concussions. As a result of this, Montador's surviving family is bringing a lawsuit against the NHL and claiming they did not look out for Montador's long-term health, and the league was transparent about head injuries.

Montador suffered at least 11 documented concussions in NHL, inc. 4 in 12 weeks in 2012, his family has said.

(Steve actually had 19 documented concussions, Dr. Charles Tator told a govt hearing in 2019.)
Montador's father has been locked in an 8-year legal battle with the NHL.

It was awful to recall all the head injuries that Steve Montador went through as a professional hockey player, and it cost him his life. I understand why his family would pursue legal action on this front. With eleven concussions in fourteen years someone should have stopped Montador from playing altogether. On the other hand, what if medical staff tried to stop Montador and he refused? That will have to be handled in court.

Did medical professionals from several organizations mishandle Montador's long term health? It sure looks that way. Of course, today there is more known about CTE then in previous years. However, in this instance it cost a pro hockey player his life. How sad.

This will be a big court case for Montador's family and for the NHL. This case could be a major turning point for how head injuries are handled in the future both by NHL franchises and by the league.

Previously on Bladeofsteel

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Steve Yzerman has made the decision that former 1st round pick will likely never play another game for his team

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7 FEVRIER \| 327 ANSWERS National Hockey League sued after death of former player, league to officially face trial Does the NHL do enough for players suffering concussions?
No, the league needs to do more	177	54.1 %
Yes, the league does everything possible	61	18.7 %
They do enough, but could do more	89	27.2 %
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