Name: Hockey player may sue for injuries suffered in collision in a ‘no-check’ adult league
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Hockey player may sue for injuries suffered in collision in a ‘no-check’ adult league

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateA San Francisco amateur hockey player who was slammed to the ice and badly injured by an opposing player can sue him for damages, a state appeals court says, overturning a judge’s ruling that such collisions are part of the ordinary risk of the game.Michael Szarowicz was playing in the finals of the San Francisco Adult Hockey League’s tournament at the Yerba Buena ice rink in January 2017 and was about to flick the puck to an Icehounds teammate when Jeremy Birenbaum, playing defense on the opposing Thousand Eyes team, crashed into him. The teams are in a “no-check” league that prohibits intentionally colliding with an opponent.Szarowicz, then in his early 40s, was knocked into the air and landed on his head, briefly losing consciousness. His injuries included six broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder with three broken bones, a torn rotator cuff, a fractured breastbone and a collapsed lung.His suit against Birenbaum was dismissed in 2018 by Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bolanos, who relied on a 1992 state Supreme Court ruling that said sports participants cannot sue for injuries that can be traced to the inherent risks of the activity.More for youCiting the values of vigorous competition, the state’s high court said even conduct that violates the rules of the game is something players can expect and cannot be the basis of liability. Bolanos noted that the hockey league advised its players that although intentional checking was forbidden, “ice hockey is a contact sport.”But the First District Court of Appeal said there are limits to the liability shield. Though the 1992 ruling protects some intentional acts from lawsuits, the court said, it does not prohibit suits for intentionally injuring an opponent or engaging in conduct so reckless that it is beyond the expectations of other competitors.“While an incidental check may occur in no-check hockey, a violent, high speed, open-ice check on an unsuspecting opponent does not,” Justice James Richman said , issued Friday. “Prohibiting such conduct — which is, in fact, already prohibited — would neither deter vigorous participation in the sport nor otherwise fundamentally alter the nature of the sport.”If Szarowicz and his lawyers can show that Birenbaum deliberately injured him, they can seek compensation for his injuries and punitive damages, Richman said. He said a video showed Birenbaum taking at least six strides before crashing into Szarowicz during the final minutes of the game, which Szarowicz’s team was leading 5-2. And earlier in the game, Richman said, Szarowicz had seen Birenbaum checking another Icehounds player and asked Birenbaum why he was so angry.Szarowicz started playing hockey at age 4 and had been playing in no-check leagues since 2000-01, the court said. He has recovered from his injuries and works as a financial officer for a company in San Francisco, said David Vogel, one of his lawyers.Another plaintiff’s attorney, Neil Tardiff, said the court had “made it clear that, inherent risk or not, the intent to harm will not be tolerated in the eyes of the law.”Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Area’s largest water districts.Birenbaum played hockey for Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles from 2008 through 2010. Attorney John Brydon said Monday his client would consider an appeal to the state Supreme Court.“An allegedly aggressive collision during a hockey game is part of that sport, even in a so-called ‘no-check’ league,” Brydon said. “This decision appears to have blurred what was heretofore a fairly bright line” that the state’s high court set in its 1992 ruling.“Hockey, even so-called ‘no-check’ hockey, has inherent risks, one of which includes aggressive body contact,” Brydon said.Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: Twitter:Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Area’s largest water districts.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateA San Francisco amateur hockey player who was slammed to the ice and badly injured by an opposing player can sue him for damages, a state appeals court says, overturning a judge’s ruling that such collisions are part of the ordinary risk of the game.Michael Szarowicz was playing in the finals of the San Francisco Adult Hockey League’s tournament at the Yerba Buena ice rink in January 2017 and was about to flick the puck to an Icehounds teammate when Jeremy Birenbaum, playing defense on the opposing Thousand Eyes team, crashed into...

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Bob Egelko

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Hockey player may sue for injuries suffered in collision in a ‘no-check’ adult league

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