Campbell River man hurt sparring with martial arts teacher wins damages
VANCOUVER - A man who sued his martial arts teacher after his knee was injured while the teacher was demonstrating a move has been awarded damages of more than $155,000 in B.C. Supreme Court.
Court was told that Robert Parker of Campbell River suffered a ligament tear and damage to the cartilage of his right knee as a result of pressure applied by Jodey Ingalls on Jan. 23, 2003.
Parker said he heard his knee pop, rip and tear, suffered excruciating pain and blacked out for 20 to 30 seconds.
Parker eventually had surgery on the knee, in May 2004, but his knee is still stiff in the morning and he limps for the first couple of steps he take.
Court was told he can’t ski or do martial arts, play baseball or ride his bike off-road, has gained 30 pounds since the injury and continues to take pain and anti-inflammatory medication.
He’s also unable to work on his house or trade work with his friends and his ability to help with chores around the house is reduced.
Can damage suits like that set precedents? Or is that criminal law only?
We don’t know what the class was, or what happened. Speculating, the instructor could have been demonstrating grappling moves in which he had no expertise.
ya, that is jody ingalls. his club is called Pureselfdefense. i have met him and know a lot of people that train with him, i have never heard a complaint. he has a very loyal bunch aside from this guy. i believe a waiver was signed but beware they mean next to nothing in court.
pure self defense studio offers kickboxing, shootfighting(bart vale), jujitsu. they have boxers, judoka and wrestlers that train there regularly. locally the school has a good reputation.
i have heard a couple renditions of what went wrong but i wasnt there so i wont comment.
Too bad that you cannot provide an insight into what happened. Could you at least say if there was some sort of disclaimer signed by Parker before the mishap happened (you know, one of the tipical disclaimers we get to sign any time we join a MA gym)?
I’m sorry if I’m pushing the question, the situation is just too intriguing.
i was told there was a disclaimer or waiver. the truth is that for martial arts clubs and gyms, in canada anyway, they do not mean much of anything in court.
**i just noticed the complaintants name. i went to high school with him if it is the same guy. lol.
Parker said he heard his knee pop, rip and tear, suffered excruciating pain and blacked out for 20 to 30 seconds.
What, he couldn’t say stop or just tap? If he did, then why didn’t the instructor let go? If there was no time to tap, you wonder why the instructor was going so hard. If he was just ‘demonstrating a move’.
Exactly. I mean, if he really performed such a maneuver to such a degree that the knee ‘popped’ and the ligaments ‘tore’, it’s diifficult to imagine how he could do so without not willing to injure his student. If it’s a grappling gym like the earlier poster suggests, then how could the instructor not be familiar with the tapping procedure? Sounds to me like he wasn’t being careful enough or was being malicious.
In my 5 years of training I’ve witnessed two people tear their knees to the point requiring surgery, and no it’s not hard to do. I wouldn’t assume the teacher overpowered a control that was targeting the knee area. It could have been an accident during a takedown, throw, a misplaced low-roundhouse, poor falling technique, or any number of things.
And of the two, both are back in the dojo training and haven’t gained 30lbs or a propensity for crying.