Colo. Court Turns Down NHL Player’s Bid to Collect Disability Insurance

A Colorado court ruled that former NHL player Warren Rychel isn’t entitled to disability insurance for a hand injury he suffered in a 1998 brawl.

Rychel, a former left wing for the Colorado Avalanche, sued Lloyd’s of London over his injury from a fight during a Dec. 17, 1998, hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks. He said it left him unable to perform his role as an “enforcer” – playing a tough, physical game and fighting with opponents.

A trial judge had dismissed the suit and the state Court of Appeals refused to reinstate it, ruling Rychel’s professional athlete disability insurance covered only unexpected injuries. The court said Rychel himself said fighting was part of his job, so the injury could not be considered unexpected.

Rychel’s attorney, Mark Demorest, said Rychel wasn’t trying to hit anyone when he was hurt.

“He injured his hand when it got tangled in an opponent’s jersey,” Demorest said.

The appeals court rejected that argument.

“Although Rychel may not have expected his hand to get caught in the other player’s hockey sweater, that is not the governing factor,” the ruling said.

In a 2002 deposition, Rychel defended fighting as a way of life in the NFL.

“Just for the respect of it, and that’s the way it always was. Two guys hammering it out, fighting rather than hitting each other with sticks. That’s kind of why fighting is allowed in hockey,” he told attorneys in the case.

Rychel is now a scout for the Phoenix Coyotes. He played nine seasons in the NHL, including stints with Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto and Anaheim. He was with the 1996 Avalanche team that won the Stanley Cup.

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