The Utah Supreme Court reversed the lower court in a lawsuit filed on behalf of a 7-year-old son suffered a skull fracture when he was struck in the head with a hockey stick by an 8 year-old player. Utah’s highest court found that an 8-year-old who struck the boy was less likely to appreciate the likelihood of causing serious injury; accordingly the incident could be construed as an accident instead of an intentional tort. The boy, through his mother, seeks damages from Safeco Insurance Co., the striking boy’s family’s insurance carrier.
This boy suffered a serious head injury causing some brain damage. I would suspect this case will now settle for Safeco’s policy limits.
