A Referee’s Handicap, Insurance and Hockey Canada’s $364

Certainly, Derrick Henderson was not entitled to such protection.

On February 10, 2002, Mr. Henderson was officiating a Peewee A category game in Brandon, Manitoba. During the second period, a player left the bench of his team to join the game. And he accidentally mowed down the referee.

Despite his 25 years of experience as an official, Derrick Henderson has never had the chance to protect himself. He fell head first onto the boards and onto the ice. This resulted in serious cervical injuries.

He left the match when this accident happened and he never refereed again. He first suffered from worrying loss of motor skills and balance. Then, his state of health steadily deteriorated over the following weeks and months. So much so that he had to undergo major surgeries. In particular, three cervical vertebrae were fused to him.

Derrick Henderson is chief of the Sagkeeng Aboriginal community, 120 kilometers north of Winnipeg. He has been permanently disabled since the accident. He can no longer walk. Even to cover short distances, he is unable to move without the use of crutches. He also experiences constant pain in his back and neck.

***

In December 2003, after many tests confirming his permanent disability, Derrick Henderson contacted Glen McCurdie of Hockey Canada. The latter, recently retired, was then responsible for insurance and services to members of the federation.

Seriously concerned about his condition and wanting to know what kind of insurance protection he was entitled to, Mr. Henderson asked the Hockey Canada representative for a copy of the federation’s master policy. However, both orally and in writing, Glen McCurdie refused to provide him with this important information.

It is not our practice to provide our insurance/liability policy to potential lawsuitsreplied Mr. McCurdie.

It puzzled me that Hockey Canada denied me access to this information. I just wanted to know if I was covered and what was the protection offered to officialssays Derrick Henderson.

The last public document summarizing Hockey Canada’s insurance coverage was written in 2015 and revised in 2019-20. It is specified in bold type that members have the right to consult the master policy of Hockey Canada and that it is sufficient to present themselves at the offices of their provincial federation to consult it.

***

Despite his insistent representations, Mr Henderson says he did not hear from the federation’s insurance company after he completed the claim form in which he recounted the circumstances of his accident and provided the information requested concerning his state of health. .

I had to resort to my employer’s insurance. At some point I received a check for $300 (from Hockey Canada’s insurer) to cover physiotherapy costshe explains.

He also kept a copy of a check for… $64 issued by the Hockey Canada Health Insurance Fund. It was the equivalent of a slap in the facehe confides.

In short, as compensation for a permanent physical incapacity, he was given the sum of $364, as if he had broken a tooth or as if he had damaged his glasses.

***

Derrick Henderson says he went to make his case to Hockey Manitoba general manager Peter Woods, and that the latter told him that if he hoped for more compensation, he would have to take legal action.

I told him that we would meet again in courtsays Derrick Henderson.

He therefore jointly sued Hockey Canada, Hockey Manitoba, the Brandon Minor Hockey Association, the coach of the pee-wee team of the player who inflicted his injury and the said player’s parents.

The Court of Queen’s Bench (Manitoba) and the Manitoba Court of Appeal have alternately held that Derrick Henderson was not entitled to any compensation because his permanent disability did not result from negligence or intention mischievous.

During the legal proceedings, Mr. Henderson says he was approached by a lawyer for the defendants and that the latter offered him the sum of $10,000 to settle the entire dispute. Deeming this offer clearly insufficient given the handicap that afflicted him, he refused the offer.

If I was not entitled to any compensation, why did they offer me $10,000 to settle the case? he wonders again, all these years later.

In the end, Derrick Henderson says he engulfed over $130,000 in legal fees in the hope of getting fair compensation.

Clearly, the protection he thought he had from the larger Hockey Canada family was non-existent.

Derrick Henderson is the Chief of the Sagkeeng First Nation.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Karen Pauls

At this stage of the story, many readers may be wondering why this story, which dates back more than 20 years, is the subject of this column.

That’s because last summer, in the wake of the sex scandal that hit Hockey Canada, something new came to light. Derrick Henderson was flabbergasted to learn that since the early 2000s, the federation had amassed tens of millions in opaque funds. And what’s more, according to the leaders of the national federation, this money was supposed to be used to compensate members who were victims of uninsurable or uninsured accidents.

Last May, Hockey Canada quickly settled, out of court, a 3.55 million lawsuit brought by the alleged victim of a sexual assault committed in 2018 by eight hockey players having worn the colors of Team Canada junior.

Before the Standing Committee on Heritage, the outgoing CEO of the federation, Tom Renney, and his successor Scott Smith explained that they had decided to compensate the victim without knowing what had really happened on the evening of the alleged gang rape, and without knowing the identity of the alleged attackers.

It totally disheartened me to learn that Hockey Canada was settling cases under the table that were potentially damaging to its image, while I was forced to fight in court and was disabled. It broke my heart to have to fight and be denied compensation. Refereeing was my passion. And I’m not one to brag, but I was a good refereesays Derrick Henderson.

***

After the Renney and Smith testimonies, the story of Hockey Canada’s secrecy funds has become big business in the country.

the Globe and Mail first revealed the existence of one of these large monetary reserves, which bears the name of the National Fund for Equity. It was later established that another, older fund existed. Then, we learned that a third fund had been set up to pour into it several millions that had already been placed in the National Equity Fund.

Between the early 2000s and 2021, Hockey Canada notably imposed insurance premiums on its members that exceeded the actual costs of its policy. And along the way, the assets of the federation have increased from 28 to 153 million dollars.

In a recent report, former Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell blamed Hockey Canada for not informing participants (players, coaches and referees) that these funds were raised from their dues. He also revealed that Hockey Canada divides its money into several funds so as not to appear too rich and to avoid facing too large claims in the event of legal proceedings.

Given the culture of secrecy that has reigned at Hockey Canada over the past few decades, it is extremely difficult to know if other members have received treatment similar to that of Derrick Henderson. But when you compare the barriers he encountered to Hockey Canada’s eagerness to settle the alleged gang rape last May, you wonder if the decisions to compensate or not were not adjusted. according to customer’s head.

Clearly, the system is not designed to help members. Even though they charge us for insurance, they don’t cover usargues Derrick Henderson based on his painful experience.

What’s more, on November 15, another Hockey Canada executive, First Vice-President Pat McLaughlin, admitted before the Heritage Committee that the compensation paid to the alleged gang-rape victim had nothing to do with a activity sanctioned by Hockey Canada.

***

Derrick Henderson’s story raises many questions about the quality of insurance coverage offered to minor hockey participants in the country. And, above all, on the management of the tens of millions accumulated in the coffers of Hockey Canada.

Hockey Quebec provided me with the documentation that members generally have access to regarding insurance. For example, there are tables explaining that, depending on their age category, members may be entitled to compensation varying between $45,000 and $250,000 for the loss of the use of both legs.

However, the document contains a few passages stating that the Hockey Canada insurance provides secondary protection which is intended to supplement the personal policies held by members.

Is the hockey community adequately protected or not? It’s far from clear.

Moreover, 20 years after the accident that changed Mr. Henderson’s life (still in the wake of the sex scandal last May), Justice Cromwell was called upon to assess the quality of governance at Hockey Canada. And in terms of insurance, the findings he made were very little reassuring.

[…] Hockey Canada does not currently have a formal claims management policy (both for insured claims and for underinsured and uninsured claims). Until recently, it was unclear how affected individuals could bring claims or complaints to Hockey Canada’s attention (eg whether they should contact Hockey Canada through their provincial sport organization). It was also unclear how each grievance or complaint would then be handled within Hockey Canada, if an investigation was conducted and what information was shared with members.wrote Judge Cromwell in his report.

This soft focus suggests that even if Hockey Canada’s coffers were overflowing, there were likely other cases similar to Derrick Henderson’s across the country. It is unacceptable.

Will Hockey Canada’s next leaders have the courage to step back and make amends? We’ll see.

In the meantime, anyone working in amateur hockey would do well to check the extent of their personal insurance coverage.

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The article is in French

Tags: Referees Handicap Insurance Hockey Canadas