Worker/Workplace Negligence
Boxer claimed overweight opponent caused brain damage
| Defense | |
| Government - State and Local Government | |
| Joey Gamache & Sissy Gamache v. The State of New York, No. 106968 | |
| Court of Claims, New York, NY | |
| Melvin L. Schweitzer |
|
| 03-26-2010 |
- Louis V. Fasulo; Fasulo, Shalley & DiMaggio; New York, NY, for Joey Gamache, Sissy Gamache
- Keith Sullivan; Sullivan & Galleshaw, L.L.P.; Middle Village, NY, for Joey Gamache, Sissy Gamache
- None
- Ross N. Herman; Assistant Attorney General; New York, NY, for State of New York
- None
On Feb. 26, 2000, claimant Joey Gamache, a professional boxer in his 30s, was knocked out during a prizefight that was being conducted at Madison Square Garden, in Manhattan. Gamache claimed that he sustained damage of his brain. He contended that his injury was a result of his opponent, Arturo Gatti, being allowed to fight at a weight in excess of the limit. The fight's weigh-ins had been overseen by Anthony Russo, an executive director of the fight's sanctioning body, the New York State Athletic Commission.
Gamache sued the state of New York. He alleged that Russo was negligent in his oversight of the weigh-in process.
Gamache's counsel claimed that Russo failed to properly weigh Gatti. They contended that the scale's meter never leveled when Gatti stepped onto the scale, that it merely bounced when Gatti raised his arms. They claimed that, as soon as Russo announced that Gatti's weight met the 141-pound limit, Gatti stepped aside and began to consume liquid, eliminating the possibility of a second weighing. They contended that Gamache's manager protested while Gatti was being weighed, but that Russo rudely dismissed the protest. Gamache's counsel contended that Gatti weighed more than 160 pounds some 30 hours later, when the fight began. The contention was based on an unofficial weigh-in that was televised moments before the fight began.
Defense counsel contended that Gamache's counsel could not prove that Gatti's fight weight totaled 160 pounds or anything in excess of the limit.
Gamache claimed that he suffers permanent damage of his brain. He sought recovery of damages for his past and future pain and suffering. His wife presented a derivative claim.
Defense counsel contended that Gamache's counsel could not establish that Mr. Gamache's injuries would have been prevented by any change of the weigh-in process. He claimed that Gamache's injuries were solely a result of Gamache's inability to defend himself.
Judge Melvin Schweitzer opined that Russo did not properly conduct the weigh-in procedure, but he also determined that Gamache's injuries were not related to any defect of the weigh-in process. Thus, Schweitzer rendered a defense verdict.
This report is based on the judge's published decision. The attorneys were not asked to contribute.
