This equipment design case involves an injury to a seventeen-year-old ice hockey player due to allegedly faulty equipment. The plaintiff was using a new pair of ice skates produced by a leading ice hockey equipment manufacturer. The plaintiff used the ice skates for the first time during his team’s morning skate with no apparent problems. After testing them out and determining he liked them, the plaintiff decided he would wear the skates in his game later that evening. On his first shift of the game, the plaintiff was injured when the skate blade snapped off from the rest of the ice skate. The plaintiff lost his balance and twisted his leg as he fell to the ice. After receiving on-ice treatment from the team’s trainer, he was carted off the ice rink on a stretcher and taken to a nearby suburban hospital. There, it was determined that he tore his ACL and MCL during the fall.

Like all products, hockey equipment must be tested to make certain it is not defective when it leaves the manufacturer. Furthermore, there are certain standards that the equipment must meet. The Hockey Equipment Certification Council (HECC) is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization, created to evaluate and set standards for the testing of hockey equipment. The HECC certification demonstrates that the equipment passed all of the tests, indicating the equipment met the performance criteria specific to the body areas the equipment was designed to protect at the time it was submitted for testing. Some of these tests on ice skates include testing stress points, susceptibility to extreme heat and cold, and durability. In order to appropriately determine the exact cause of the break, the ice skate would need to be examined more closely, including a full review of the results from the testing done, to assess any potential liability. Because the skate was new and only used two times, it appears there could be a defect in the product. Furthermore, there are a number of cases that I am aware of where similar claims were brought against skate makers for a defective design or manufacturing process. I have over twenty years in ice hockey equipment design and manufacturing, and I am very familiar with product certification and testing.

1. What procedures are in place to ensure ice hockey equipment is not defective when produced?

Design Engineer Opines on Hockey Skate Design

This sports management case takes place in Connecticut and involves a man who was injured while ice skating. The man was on the ice while his child was receiving an ice skating lesson. The man’s skate got caught in a hole on the middle of the ice approximately two inches deep. It is alleged that the defendant/s failed to properly clear, clean and zamboni the ice especially the aforementioned area where the ice was so worn and containing holes, which caused the man to suffer injuries.

I have been involved in the design and maintenance of ice rinks for 30 years. For maintaining a rink, there should be a daily measure of the thickness of the ice, the ice edge should be checked for bumps and cracks and it should be cleaned. For heavily used rinks, the Zamboni should be brought out every 50-60 minutes, ice shavings should be picked up and hot water should be poured to smooth out the surface.

1. Do you have experience managing ice skating facilities? 2. Do you have knowledge of the necessary steps to maintain the ice and keep it in good conditions?

Location: Exeter, NH Graduate of Colgate University 50+ ice rinks designed and managed Former P******** o* U* A**** S**** Current P******** o* a r*** m********* a** d***** c******

Northeast

Connecticut

This expert is a graduate of Colgate College and has over 30 years of experience in the ice rink industry. Previously, he was the President of US Arena Supply, an ice rink design and material supplier. Currently, he owns and manages an ice rink management and design company, where he is heavily involved in the operations and maintenance of ice rinks throughout the country, including several projects in New York.

Lack of Maintenance At Ice Skating Rink Leads To Injury

This action sports case involves a young woman who was seriously injured following a dangerous hit in her intramural ice hockey league. The woman was playing for a team sponsored by her employer, which was competing in the league’s playoffs at the time of the incident in question. The league had low-contact rules that allowed for a minimum amount of shoulder-to-shoulder contact when players were making a play on the puck, but prohibited any kind of checking or other body contact. Despite these rules, the plaintiff was deliberately tripped by another player, who placed her stick between the plaintiff’s legs while she was skating with the puck. As a result, the plaintiff suffered significant injuries, including permanent brain damage.

I am currently a licensed professional investigator. I have been employed for over fifteen seasons at the professional hockey level in hockey operations as a trainer, equipment manager, and off-ice official in the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League. My ice hockey experience also includes coaching certification by USA Hockey at Level 3. I have coached ice hockey at the youth hockey, high school, and college levels. I have participated as a player in casual hockey games that were deemed "no checking." It would seem that the referee's inability to control the game was a contributing factor here; so poor officiating might be one area in which this league was deficient and dangerous. Making the rules clear to participants prior to the game getting underway is a must for these leagues. What league culture allows and what is strictly prohibited should be clearly outlined.

1. Please briefly describe your experience in hockey refereeing and/or administration. 2. What measures could have been put in place to avoid the situation in question?

Recreational Sports Expert Opines on Excessive Force in Intramural Hockey Game

This case involves an elderly man suffered severe injuries while ice skating at a public ice rink. The man was skating with his grandchildren during a “free skate” session at the rink in question. The ice had been resurfaced by a Zamboni 5 minutes before the man entered the rink. Within the first minute of being on the ice, the man slipped and fell breaking his hip and fracturing his wrist. It was alleged that the ice was too slippery due to improper use of the Zamboni machine.

I have been the owner of a large ice rink and arena for 25+ years and have been a professional figuring skating coach for 40 years. I have vast experience with ice maintenance and I am able to speak to the proper conditions ice should be in so that no injuries occur. I was one of the first 12 ice arena industry professionals in the United States to become certified by the Ice Arena Institute of Management in arena operations and management. I believe many factors could have made the ice too slippery. These could include: refrigeration of the pipes under the ice, improper ice resurfacer use or maintenance, and rental skate problems.

1. Please describe your background as relates to ice rink management and maintenance. 2. What is the proper protocol for ensuring safe skating conditions and that the ice isn't too wet for patrons?

Elderly Man Injured After Falling On Freshly Resurfaced Ice

Location: South Daytona, FL Certified Rink Administrator (STAR) Former, Operations Manager, RDV Sportsplex Ice Den Current, Co-Owner and Vice President of Operations at a popular ice rink

This expert has reviewed 3 cases in the past, been deposed 3 times and provided trial testimony twice.

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Design Engineer Opines on Hockey Skate Design

Lack of Maintenance At Ice Skating Rink Leads To Injury

Recreational Sports Expert Opines on Excessive Force in Intramural Hockey Game

Elderly Man Injured After Falling On Freshly Resurfaced Ice

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