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THERE WERE QUESTIONS OF FACT OF WHETHER THE FOUR-YEAR-OLD PLAINTIFF UNDERSTOOD AND ASSUMED THE RISKS OF PARTICIPATING IN A YOUTH HOCKEY CLINIC; THE COACH, WHILE SKATING BACKWARDS, FELL ON THE CHILD; DEFENDANT’S CROSS-MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant town (Oyster Bay), which offered a youth hockey clinic, was not entitled to summary judgment on the ground the four-year-old plaintiff assumed the risk of injury. Defendant coach (Marlow) was skating backwards when he fell on the four-year-old plaintiff:

The [assumption of the risk] “doctrine applies where a consenting participant in sporting and amusement activities ‘is aware of the risks; has an appreciation of the nature of the risks; and voluntarily assumes the risks'” … . “If the risks of the activity are fully comprehended or perfectly obvious, plaintiff has consented to them and defendant has performed its duty” … . Risks that are “commonly encountered” or “inherent” in a sport, as well as risks “involving less than optimal conditions,” are risks tha participants have accepted and are encompassed by the assumption of risk doctrine … . “It is not necessary . . . that the injured plaintiff have foreseen the exact manner in which his or her injury occurred, so long as he or she is aware of the potential for injury of the mechanism from which the injury results” … . Awareness of risk is to be assessed against the background of the skill and experience of the particular plaintiff … .

Given the evidence submitted in support of the Town defendants’ cross-motion, including the infant plaintiff’s age and scant information concerning the infant plaintiff’s skill and experience level with ice hockey, there were triable issues of fact as to whether the infant plaintiff fully appreciated the risks involved in terms of the activity he was engaged in so as to find he assumed the risk of his injuries under the facts of this case … . H.B. v Town of Oyster Bay, 2025 NY Slip Op 01203, Second Dept 3-5-25

Practice Point: Sometimes the application of a legal doctrine seems absurd. Can a four-year-old participant in a hockey clinic appreciate the risk of being injured by a coach who skates backwards and falls on him?

 

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