A Chicago law firm is representing the family of an NHL player who died of an accidental prescription drug overdose in 2011.
Derek Boogaard, who played with the Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers and was known as an "enforcer" who was put on the ice to fight and intimidate the opposition, was recovering from a concussion when he took the fatal dose of pills.
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, accuses the National Hockey League of negligence by supplying him with "excessive amounts of painkillers during his career" and "failing in its attempt to curb and cure his resulting addiction."
The suit claims Boogaard was given 1021 pills by NHL team doctors and dentists, including 150 pills of Oxycodone, of which he would take up to 10 a day.
Lawyers claim Boogaard suffered from CTE, a progressive brain disease caused by head trauma that makes an individual more susceptible to drug addiction.
The family is represented by Chicago law firm Corboy & Demetrio, who also represents the family of former Chicago Bears player Dave Duerson, who committed suicide and was also found to have suffered from CTE.
