Hockey Skate 'Freak Accident' Lawsuit Tossed By MA Court

MARLBOROUGH, MA — The state appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a teen injured in "freak accident" during a 2013 hockey game at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough. The teen's wrist was sliced open by another player's skate, and he sued the player, the rink owner, and the referees overseeing the game.

The injured player asked the appeals court to overturn a Middlesex Superior Court judge's earlier decision to toss the suit. The appeals court affirmed that the suit had no merit because the player's injury occurred during "the range of the ordinary activity inherent in [hockey]."

"In this case, we apply that standard to the game of ice hockey in which physical contact between players standing on two thin metal blades atop a sheet of ice is not simply an unavoidable by-product of vigorous play, but is a fundamental part of the way the game is played," Associate Justice Dalila Wendlandt wrote in a majority opinion released Dec. 2.

Associate Justice Peter J. Rubin dissented from the majority opinion, arguing that a check made right before the player's wrist was sliced was reckless — and he said that the court's decision "strips children who play competitive sports of the protections against reckless violence."

According to the suit, the injury happened during a July 2013 game between the New England Renegades and the Pennsylvania-based Team Kanaly. The teams were facing off in the Boston Selects 2013 AAA Tournament of Champions. The players, Daniel Borella and Julion Scott Lever, were both 17 at the time and about the same size, according to the suit. Lever played for Team Kanaly and Borella for the Renegades.

The two teams were "verbally jousting" at the beginning of the game. But by the third period, Team Kanaly was beating the Renegades 8 to 3. With two minutes left in the game, Borella caught the puck at mid-ice and began skating along the boards toward the Kanaly goal. According to witnesses, Lever skated toward Borella at high speed and checked him from behind.

Borella fell to the ground on top of the puck and briefly lost consciousness. Lever continued to try to get the puck and at some point skated over Borella's wrist, slicing it open, according to the lawsuit.

Lever was sent to the penalty box on a boarding call, and Borella was carried off the ice bleeding. He lost partial use of his dominant hand after the incident.

Borella sued in 2014. He claimed Lever was reckless and negligent, which the majority struck down because that kind of behavior is "fundamental" to ice hockey. He also sued the referees for failing to officiate the game properly, and the New England Sports Center owners, claiming they forced referees to oversee too many games.

"No rational view of this record supports a finding that Lever's conduct was reckless — that is, extreme misconduct outside the range of the ordinary activity inherent in ice hockey," the majority opinion reads.

You can read the entire appeals court decision on the state courts website.