On Monday, June 1, former Chicago Blackhawks center and Tampa Bay Lighting coach Steve Ludzik initiated a lawsuit in Federal Court, alleging that the NHL had failed to warn players such as himself of the risk of long-term neurological damage associated with repeated head injury.
Ludzik is represented by Chicago law firm Corboy & Demetrio; the same law firm representing the estates of former NHL player Steve Montador and former NFL player Dave Duerson. He suffers from Parkinson’s disease, which he alleges is a result of repeated concussions he sustained during his days as a professional ice hockey player.
The NHL has faced multiple concussion-related lawsuits over the past few years, notably a class action lawsuit that was filed in February by a group of 29 players. NHL Commissioner made a statement while visiting the United Center for Game 3 of this year’s Western Conference Final regarding the purported link between concussions and long-term brain damage:
“From a medical science standpoint, there is no evidence yet that one necessarily leads to the other … I know there are a lot of theories, but if you ask people who study it, they tell you there is no statistical correlation that can definitively make that conclusion.”