The parents of deceased ex-Minnesota Wild player Derek Boogaard are suing the NHLPA claiming that the NHLPA failed to follow through on their promise to help the Boogaard family collect the remaining $4.8 million of Boogaard's contract, money the family believes is rightfully theirs, according to the Associated Press.
Boogaard died of an accidental overdose of prescription pills and alcohol on May 13, 2011. The family claims that their son's two NHL organizations, the Minnesota Wild and the New York Rangers, are directly responsible for his prescription drug addiction. Reportedly, Boogaard was prescribed hundreds of prescriptions and thousands of pills by both Minnesota and New York team doctors for various ailments and injuries.
The Boogaard family contacted the NHLPA following their son's death in order to file a grievance against the Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers, a necessary step in the family's process to receive the remaining $4.8 million on Boogaard's contract. According to the family, the NHLPA promised to file the report, however, they failed to do so by the proper deadline and the Boogaard's were unable to collect that money.
Boogaard's parents are now suing the NHLPA for both the $4.8 million they believe they were initially owed, as well as an additional $5 million in punitive damages.
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