NHL ordered to produce medical records of former players in concussion lawsuit

A U.S. Federal Court judge has ordered the NHL to deliver medical records and player injury data to the representatives of the plaintiffs in the class-action concussion lawsuit facing the league, TSN's Rick Westhead reports.

The order came down a few days after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was deposed in New York City.

"The Court finds that the (NHL's) blanket application of the physician-patient privilege - protecting all medical data from disclosure - is inapplicable here," judge Susan Nelson concluded.

The NHL argued in May that the "extraordinary cost," and the importance of protecting the privacy of its former employees, was sufficient reason to deny the request.

Players names will redacted from the records, according to Westhead.

Previous estimations had the league facing a $13.5-million dollar price tag to produce the records of nearly 6,000 players.

The lawsuit, brought against the NHL in November of 2013, alleges that the league didn't do enough to protect its players, and turned a profit despite understanding the long-term health issues associated with head trauma.