On Sept. 25, 2003, plaintiff Carolyn Martezian, an Internal Revenue Service agent in her 40s, was participating in a sparring match at Empire State Karate, in Smithtown. She was struck in the face by Ralph Bertelle, a part-time employee of the school. The blow fractured Martezian’s nose.Martezian sued Bertelle, Empire State Karate, and its president, Joyce Santamaria. She alleged that Bertelle intentionally, negligently and/or recklessly struck her and that the remaining defendants were negligent in their supervision and operation of the school.Martezian claimed that Bertelle was a student in the sparring class and not working at the time of the incident. She contended that Bertelle had a reputation for being overly aggressive and that the school and Santamaria took no action to correct his behavior. She also contended that she could not have assumed the risk of her injury, given that punches to the face are illegal in sparring and are therefore not foreseeable.
Defense counsel contended that Martezian assumed the risk of engaging in the sport and specifically in the sparring class in which she was injured. They moved for summary judgment.
Empire State Karate and Santamaria also contended that Martezian signed a contractual waiver barring any claims against the school and its president.
Bertelle contended that he did not intentionally strike Martezian and that her face made contact with his fist when she came off balance while throwing a roundhouse kick.
Martezian was transported to the emergency room of Stony Brook [N.Y.] University Medical Center. She sustained a fractured nose and a deviated septum. She underwent closed reduction of the injury, but she contended that she suffers residual breathing difficulties and that she will have to undergo reconstructive surgery.
Martezian sought recovery of damages for her past and future pain and suffering.
Judge Robert Doyle found that being struck in the face while sparring was a risk that was known and apparent to Martezian when she chose to take the sparring class. He noted that Martezian had sparred with Bertelle dozens of times and had been accidentally hit in the face during sparring matches with him on several occasions. He further noted that she signed a contract with the school that states, in part, that she acknowledged that the risk of sustaining an injury resulting from broken bones or even death is inherent in the sport of karate and that she waived her right to recover against the karate school in the event that she sustained such an injury. In his decision, Doyle wrote that, “contrary to plaintiff’s contention, defendants Santamaria and Empire State Karate had no prior knowledge of any propensity of Bertelle to punch people in the face during sparring classes.” Thus, Doyle held that the suits against Empire State Karate and Santamaria should be dismissed.However, Doyle also found that Martezian had “established that issues of fact exist as to whether Bertelle intentionally punched her in the nose, in violation of the rules of sparring.” He concluded that the issues of whether Bertelle’s actions exceeded the risk inherent in the sport could not be determined at that juncture. The matter would have proceeded to trial, but Martezian and Bertelle subsequently agreed to a $35,000 settlement.