Boogaard’s parents file $9.8M lawsuit vs. NHL players union

New York, NY, United States (4E Sports) – The parents of late NHL enforcer Derek Boogaard has filed a $9.8 million suit against the NHL Players Association for its failure to file grievance to recover the final three years of his salary from the New York Rangers.

According to the suit, the filing of which was first reported by celebrity website TMZ, Boogaard’s parents seek $4.8 million in salary he was scheduled to make and $5 million in punitive damages.

Boogaard died last year of accidental overdose of prescription painkillers and alcohol with three years remaining on a four-year, $6.5 million deal he signed with the Rangers.

The player’s parents claimed that the union did not meet a deadline to file a grievance seeking the final three years of his contract with the Rangers.

“It is irrational for this union to believe that a grievance should not be filed over the nonpayment of the balance to one of its members’ standard player contract when the union is aware that a team or teams bears responsibility for the player’s death,” part of the lawsuit reads.

Len Boogaard, Derek’s father, confirmed that a lawsuit was filed Friday in Los Angeles but declined further comment.

“We are saddened to read reports that the parents of the late Derek Boogaard have filed a lawsuit against the NHLPA,” spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon said in a statement.

“We have not been served with or seen a copy of the complaint, but we are confident that there is no meritorious claim that can be made against the NHLPA in regard to Derek’s tragic death. It is not appropriate to comment further at this time,” he added.

In the lawsuit, Boogaard’s parents claimed he was addicted to prescription pills at the time of his death partly because he had been prescribed “a multitude of narcotics and sleeping pills by team doctors, physicians, trainers, and dentists of the New York Rangers and the Minnesota Wild.”

Believing that NHL teams are partly responsible for their son’s death, Derek’s parents turned to the players’ union which promised to help them file a grievance to claim the rest of Boogaard’s contract from the Rangers.

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