A woman left paralysed for life after her spine was broken in an amateur rugby match has won a landmark High Court battle worth up to £10m.
Dani Czernuszka, aged 34, alleged that she heard opponent Natasha Mercedes King say she was “going to break her” before the tackle which left her paralysed from the waist downwards, during the match between Reading Sirens and Bracknell Ladies.
The court heard that Ms King, who was not penalised by the referee for the incident, exerted her full weight downwards onto Ms Czernuska’s head and back as she was bent over in a crouched position waiting to receive the ball in a ruck.
Ms Czernuszka, a mother-of-two who now plays para ice hockey for Team GB, was hospitalised for six months after the injury and now faces a lifetime in a wheelchair.
In a legal first for the women’s rugby at the amateur level, the High Court ruled on Thursday that Ms King was liable for the severe spinal fracture and spinal cord injury sustained by in October 2017.
Lawyers for Ms Czernuszka said the decision by Mr Justice Spencer would set a precedent for sporting injury claims, and clarified the application of previous case law surrounding spinal cord sporting injuries.
While Ms King had denied liability, arguing that she had performed a fair tackle which had not been penalised during the match, the judge found that Ms King failed to exercise an appropriate degree of care and had been reckless in her conduct.
“The game was meant to be a friendly but it was played hard and very aggressively,” Ms Czernuszka told the court.
Describing Ms King as “very large and aggressive”, Ms Czernuszka – who is 5ft 3in tall – alleged that Ms King had also punched her friend and broken another of her teammate’s arms during the same match.
In his ruling, the judge said that “despite the claimant lying prostrate and obviously injured, the defendant walked way towards her own goal line, apparently unconcerned for the claimant and what she had done”, adding: “Nothing could have been further from the spirit of the game.”
Ms Czernuszka said: “I am grateful for today’s ruling and to finally put to bed all of the untruths and fabrications surrounding what happened during the game that day. Learning to live with my lifechanging injuries has been difficult and something I could not have done without the support of my family and close friends.
“Sport has always given me great pleasure in life, and I don’t blame the game of rugby for what happened that day. Ultimately, I feel I was let down by improper and poor behaviour from the opposing player, coaching staff and the referee.
“With the unparalleled support of my legal team, I hope I can use my injury and the outcome of today’s trial to raise awareness of the dangerous lines that shouldn’t be crossed when playing sport – no matter the level.”
