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Liability Lawsuit Threatens To Wrap The Rink
by George James Malik on 09/01/07 at 09:36 AM ET
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from the Associated Press, via USA Today:
Denise M. Sciarrotta was thrilled with the seats her family had for the minor league hockey game. They were close to the action as they watched players take practice shots.
It was going to be a special night: her 12-year-old daughter was going to sing the national anthem. Then a puck ricocheted off a goal post and slammed into Sciarrotta’s head. Blood poured from a gash above her left temple.
More than four years later, Sciarrotta said she bears a 2 1/2-inch scar and permanent brain damage from an incident she maintains could have been prevented with proper safeguards.
Her negligence lawsuit could become a landmark case, as the state Supreme Court recently decided to consider if fans have the right to sue for injuries that happened during warmups. A ruling is not expected for about a year.
Filed in: Hockey Related Stories | KK Hockey | Permalink
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There are those who should go to hockey games, and those who should not.
True story:
When I was in college, I worked for a minor league hockey team. During one of the regular season games, I believe during the first or second period, a puck went screaming into the stands and struck a woman right in the head. Paramedics rushed over to her, escorted her out and a fellow staff member took her to the hospital since she refused to go with the EMC.
After the intermission and play into the next period started, in walks this same lady through a back entrance and stands right next to me. A quick glance to my right and it’s a well-known season ticket holder, fresh with stitches under her right eye and a serious case of raccoon eyes.
“What are you doing back here,” I ask.
“I’m not going to miss any more hockey than I have to,” she replied.
The hospital she was taken to was about a mile and a half away from the stadium. She managed to get taken to the hospital, get stitches and walk (yes, walk) back to the stadium in no more than 30 minutes. Needless to say, she kept her season tickets for the next season, my last with the team.
Did she sue the team or league? Of course not. She knew going in that there was a chance a puck might come her way, as any half-brained fan understands. From then on we (the team staff) simply referred to her as ‘Super Fan,’ but in reality, she embodied all that is West Texas.
Posted by Chad from Dallas on 09/02/07 at 12:38 AM ET
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It is sad when anyone gets hurt, but there is such a thing as a freak accident. No one (teams, leagues, arena staff) can plan for every possible contingency.
I could see negligence if other rinks had netting to protect spectators and this one chose not to. I could see a lawsuit if one of the players was deliberately firing pucks into the stands as a prank and hit her in the head. I could see a lawsuit if there had been previous accidents similar to this and the staff at the arena or team officials decided not to take some measures to prevent such incidents in the future and gambled that the same accident wouldn’t happen again. Sometimes accidents happen, and this sounds like an accident.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 09/01/07 at 10:10 AM ET