Bertuzzi, Moore reps to meet with Bettman

Soapy · Post by **Soapy** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 4:02 pm

Team1040 - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will meet with representatives of Steve Moore and Todd Bertuzzi next week in New York to explore the possibility of an out-of-court resolution to a $19.5-million civil suit filed by Moore, sources tell TSN.

The former Colorado Avalanche forward filed the suit against Bertuzzi last February in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, seeking damages and lost wages. The suit came two years after Bertuzzi, then with the Vancouver Canucks, punched Moore from behind and drove the Avalanche forward onto the ice. Moore suffered three broken vertebrae, a concussion and other injuries.

Sources say legal representatives for Moore, who has not played since the March 8, 2004 game, and Bertuzzi, now a member of the Florida Panthers, requested the meeting with Bettman. The NHL and a Bertuzzi representative had no comment on the matter. Moore's lawyer, Tim Danson, did not immediately return calls for comment.

In filing the civil suit, Danson, alleged the Bertuzzi attack was payback for Moore's hit on Canuck captain Markus Naslund a month earlier. Bertuzzi was suspended for the final 13 games of the regular season, plus the playoffs leading into a lockout that wiped out the entire 2003-2004 season. Bertuzzi was charged by Vancouver police and pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm.

Kel · Post by **Kel** » Thu Dec 14, 2006 4:42 pm

Is the NHL named a defendant in the law suit? Regardless, I think the Bertuzzi representatives want to remind the NHL how a trial would damage the image of the league (by the media frenzy it would generate), and therefore ask the NHL help pay the money to keep Moore silent.

Soapy · Post by **Soapy** » Mon Dec 18, 2006 12:23 am

Not that I'm a doctor but didn't Eric Cole get driven into the boards & get the same injury that Moore has....Cole made it back for game 6 of the playoffs the same year...I guess if you have the chance to win the lottery or cash in on a car accident, you obviously take the money...its is a huge black mark on the game regardless of the outcome....

Canuck-One · Post by **Canuck-One** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 12:39 pm

In my opinion the whole affair was been blown up beyond what was neccessary by pierre lacroix so we wouldn't have Bertuzzi for the playoffs. He didn't BREAK three vertebrae but had hairline fractures and there is no definitive proof that the damage was caused solely by Bertuzzi or was it exacerbated by the piling on of Moore's team mates. Danson then proceeded to go on a jurisdictional fishing trip to see if it was possible to sue and after a string of rebuffs they stumbled onto ontario. Did Moore receive more than his share of justice for head hunting Marcus Naslund? Maybe, maybe not, but it is for certain that he now wants to get rich from it. Imagine if you can that you are walking in the mall, when out of nowhere some element from the fringes purposely and with intent hits your son hard to the head knocking him down and out, you grab him spin him about and smack him in the head. Should he get rich by suing you for everything you own?

Island Nucklehead · Post by **Island Nucklehead** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 1:06 pm

Well let's be honest here guys, he deserves something. Now I don't know the rules behind the players retirement due to injury fund, but aren't they covered to a certain level if they retire due to an injury recieved on the ice? If yes, then he should forget about suing Bertuzzi, a great many player in the history of the league, and sport in general, has had their career ended by anothers actions contrary to the rules.

However, if the amount he would recieve is nothing, or ridiculously small (>1.5 million), then Bert probably owes him something. That's why I figure their having these meetings. Moore knows that in Canada there is no hope in hell of him getting 20 million out of this. People paralysed by drunks don't get a quarter of that...and this guy has plenty of other potential sources of income (Harvard grad etc.etc.) That being said, I immagine Bertuzzi will wind up coughing up 3-5 Million and this thing will be over.

I know it's hard to look at it without bias, especially when I see that Moore's parents are asking for 1.5 million, fucking vultures...but we have to keep in mind that this guy hasn't played again since(even in the minors), while Bert continues to make 5 million/per. If Rob Blake had taken out Ruutu and ended his carreer, we would be on the flip side of this discussion.

tuzzi44 · Post by **tuzzi44** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:26 pm

Soapy wrote:Not that I'm a doctor but didn't Eric Cole get driven into the boards & get the same injury that Moore has....Cole made it back for game 6 of the playoffs the same year...I guess if you have the chance to win the lottery or cash in on a car accident, you obviously take the money...its is a huge black mark on the game regardless of the outcome....

I know! i remember watching the playoff game when Cole game back thinking wait a minute.... what was the difference between those injuries? so today, i decided to do some research, heres what i found:

Steve-o Moore's doctors at the time of the incident released a statement staing that he had C3 and C4 transverse processess fractures, C3/C4 spinal ligament injuries, concussion with "significant" loss of consciousness.

http://www.vch.ca/news/docs/2004_03_10_steve_moore.pdf

So, i hope this picture helps everyone figure out where his fracture's are:

#2 is the transverse processes which connect to the transverse processes of the vertebra above etc... so injuring these can really limit range of motion and the amount of rotation somone could have in their neck. with physio, this is an injury that heals well and generally wouldnt cause problems after its healed.

In Erik Coles case, he also had 2 cervical spinal fractures, one of which that was close to the vertebral foramen (#3 on the picture, where the spinal cord goes through) so Cole was pretty lucky that the fracture didnt cause any bone fragments to shift towards the spinal cord... that would have been game over. he was apparently in a pretty hard core brace, when you were braces for long periods of time, it can really weaken the musculature around the spine causing abnormal pulls on the spine. so hes pretty lucky that he didnt re-injure anything during the playoffs last year. in my opinion he probably shouldnt have played, but i would have done the same thing if that was my team in the cup finals.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/22/sport ... yt&emc=rss

so in my professional opinion, Moore's injury is more serious but theres a higher percentage of a full recovery with those types of fractures. Cole has a higher chance of another injury. Im a therapeutic massage therapist, and i have actually dealt with someone who had a similar fracture that Moore had and he had a full recovery within 3 months.

Soapy · Post by **Soapy** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 2:18 pm

Thank you for the great information. I've always wondered why Moore's injury was any different than other neck injuries from other contact sports.
I've been skeptical of the injury report from Colorado. When Lacroix came out & said that Moore had a BROKEN NECK I thought it was grandstanding. He really threw gasoline on a out of control situation with that announcement. Did an actual doctor ever explain to the media what was really going on?
In my opinion, this will never see the inside of a courtroom. A payout/backroom deal will probabkly happen. The only winners in this situation are going to be the lawyers.
Thanks again of the research !!