City denies negligence allegations in boxer’s 2017 death
The City of Edmonton is denying any wrongdoing in allowing fallen boxer Tim Hague to fight in a June 2017 bout and is asking the province’s justice system to dismiss the claims of negligence with costs.
In a statement of defence filed Friday in response to a $5.3-million lawsuit, the city and its combative sports commission denies allegations lodged by Hague’s family. Rather, the city is arguing Hague was negligent in not providing complete “truthful” medical and fight histories to his doctors and the fight event staff.
Hague, 34 at the time, died two days after he was knocked down multiple times during a boxing match at the Shaw Conference Centre, run by the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation (EEDC).
He suffered a brain hemorrhage after the fight and his family argued he shouldn’t have been allowed to fight because of injuries from prior matches. They allege the city’s combative sports commission failed to forward the results of his two prior bouts to the proper authorities.
But the city’s legal team is arguing the onus was on Hague to properly disclose his condition through a statutory declaration he signed prior to the fight, relied on to determine if he was eligible to compete.
The statement of defence alleges Hague didn’t reveal that he was under a medical suspension by another authority as well as that he was knocked out and suffered a concussion within 30 days of the fight.
“The defendants relied on Hague and his team to be truthful and forthcoming about his medical and fight history before the event,” the statement of defence reads.
Hague’s family launched a lawsuit in June naming 11 defendants including the venue host, EEDC, the event promoter, K.O. Boxing, and individuals involved in the fight including the referee and ringside doctors.
Both the EEDC and K.O. Boxing have filed their own statements of defence also asking for dismissal of all the claims.
In response, the family’s legal team is arguing the city’s combative sports commission owes a duty of care to its fighters, as denied in the defence claim.
“It is absolutely crazy that the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission is denying that they owe a duty of care to fighters engaging in combative sports when the whole point of the commission is to regulate combative sports in Alberta and ensure the safety of fighters, as evidenced by their own policies,” lawyer Ari Schacter said in an email to Postmedia.
The city did recognize in its statement that the regulation of combative sports by separate municipalities in Alberta “can result in inconsistent or delayed reporting.” Alberta is the only province without a provincial regulator and a centralized body for reporting results and suspensions.
An independent review into Hague’s death recommended the formation of a provincewide regulator, but the provincial government has yet to move forward on that measure.