Eric Blum on Fabrice Herzog’s check: “The motive was to take me out of the game”

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The documentary film entitled “Head Injuries in Ice Hockey” from the series “NZZ Format” was broadcast late Thursday evening on SRF1. The protagonist: Eric Blum (37), who suffered several concussions during his illustrious career – and had to end his career after a final, fateful career. It was inflicted on him on February 14, 2021 when then HCD and current Zug striker Fabrice Herzog (29) hit the head.

«Part of my freedom has been stolen. Part of the freedom I had as a human being in this world has been taken away from me because of this accident,” Blum says in the film. “Today I have 95 percent of the old me back. The job I had is right in the last 5 percent.”

For Blum it is physical harm

From memory he could say nothing about the accident; he could only make an estimate based on photos and stories. The former Nati and SCB star accuses: “In terms of terminology, it was an accident. From a criminal law perspective, the question is: is there physical injury? Yes or no? Opinions differ somewhat there. For me it is not just assault, but physical harm.” From his point of view, there was no urgency or necessity for this action: “For me the motive and motivation was to take myself out of the game.”

After the violation, Blum filed claims against Herzog. No agreement has yet been reached and negotiations between the parties and their lawyers are ongoing. This not only concerns compensation, but also recourse claims from insurers.

Ongoing procedures are no problem

If the parties do not reach an agreement in their negotiations, Blum can submit his claims to the civil court. A judgment would be made on the basis of the evidence provided by the parties, since in a civil proceeding, unlike a criminal proceeding, the public prosecutor does not conduct an investigation. However, this ongoing process is not discussed in the documentary.

In addition to Blum, SCB striker Marco Lehmann, who suffered two concussions in quick succession, Jonas Hiller as president of the players’ union and neurologist Dr. Nina Federman. Herzog recently told Blick that not a day goes by that he doesn’t think about the check from back then. And that his family has been faced with threats and insults ever since.

Source : Blick