Introduction
Part 1: Medical Articles
Ashley, Mark J. (2001, July 28) Mild traumatic brain injuries in sports: What are the signs? http://www.neuroskills.com/index.html?main=cns/inside3c.shtml
Athletes at risk: Second Impact Syndrome in sports (2001, July 28) http://www.firmani.com/SIS-case/incidents.htm
Bass, A. (Editor) (1965) The medical aspects of boxing: British Association of Sports Medicine Conference held at the Goldsmiths’ College London (November 1963) Oxford: Pergamon
Beaussart, M., and Beaussart-Boulenge, L. (1970) “Experimental” study of cerebral concussion in 123 amateur boxers, by clinical examination and EEG before and immediately after fights, Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology 29, pp. 529-530
Bellotti, P., Chiarella, F., Domenicucci, S., and Lupi G. (1992) Myocardial contusion after a professional boxing match, American Journal of Cardiology 69, pp. 709-710
Blonstein, J. L. (1966) Sport and medicine: Medical aspects of amateur boxing, Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine 59, pp. 649-652
-----. (1969a) Boxing injuries, Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners 18, pp. 100-103
-----. (1969b) Control of swelling in boxing injuries, Practitioner 203, p. 206
-----. (1974) Traumatic encephalopathy in a young boxer, Lancet 2, p. 1213
-----. (1977) Care of the amateur boxer, Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 17, pp. 79-82
Blonstein, J. L. and Clarke, Edwin (1954, December 25) The medical aspects of amateur boxing, British Medical Journal, pp. 1523-1525
----- (1957, February 16) Further observations on the medical aspects of amateur boxing, British Medical Journal pp. 362-364
Bragman, James Bennett (2004, February 1) Boxing and martial arts http://www.bragmanhealth.com/books/sports/ch19.html
Brennan, T. N. and O’Connor, P. J. (1968) Incidence of boxing injuries in the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom 1953-1966, British Journal of Industrial Medicine 25, pp. 326-329
Breton, F., Pincemaille, Y., Tarriere, C., and Renault, B. (1991) Event-related potential assessment of attention and the orienting reaction in boxers before and after a fight, Biological Psychology 31, pp. 57-71
British Medical Association (1983) The Boxing Debate. London: British Medical Association
Brown, John W. (1953, January 5) Final report to the University of Wisconsin Athletic Board to the faculty concerning boxing as a collegiate sport. University of Wisconsin Medical School, Department of Preventive Medicine and Student Health, and Consultants, Document 1066
Burns, R. (1986) Boxing and the brain, ANZAC Journal of Medicine 16, p. 439
Busse, Ewald W. and Silverman, Albert J. (1952, August 23) Electroencephalographic changes in professional boxers, Journal of the American Medical Association 149:17, pp. 1522-1525
Butler, R. J. (1994) Neuropsychological investigation of amateur boxers, British Journal of Sports Medicine 28, pp. 187-190
Butler, R. J., Forsythe, W. I., Beverly, D. W., and Adams, L. M. (1993) A prospective controlled investigation of the cognitive effects of amateur boxing, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 56, pp. 1055-1061
Buttery, C. M. G. (1989) Boxing in the army, Journal of the American Medical Association 262, pp. 2089-2090
Cantu, R. (1995) Boxing and Medicine Leeds: Human Kinetics
Carp, Gerald (1974, November 7) Boxing–the hazards and their prevention, Nursing Times, pp. 1738-1740
Carr, Jesse L. and Moody, A. M. (1939, October) Boxer’s hemorrhage, California and Western Medicine 51:4, pp. 227-230
Carroll, Edward J. Jr. (1936, May) Punch-drunk, American Journal of Medical Science 191, pp. 706-712
Casson, Ira R., Sham, Raj, Campbell, Edwin A., Tarlau, Milton, and DiDomenico, Anthony (1982) Neurological and CT evaluation of knocked-out boxers, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 45, pp. 170-174
-----. (1984) Brain damage in modern boxers, Journal of the American Medical Association 251, pp. 2663-2667
Corsellis, J. A. (1989) Boxing and the brain, British Medical Journal 105, p. 298
Corsellis, J. A., Bruton, C. J. and Freeman-Browne, D. (1973) The aftermath of boxing, Psychological Medicine 3, pp. 270-303
Courville, Cyril B. (1942) Coup-contrecoup mechanism of cranio-cerebral injuries, Archives of Surgery 45, pp. 19-43
-----. (1950) The mechanism of coup-contrecoup injuries of the brain, Bulletin of the Los Angeles Neurological Society 15, pp. 72-86
-----. (1962) Forensic Neuropathology, II: Mechanisms of craniocerebral injury and their medicolegal significance, Journal of Forensic Sciences 7, pp. 1-28
-----. (1962) Forensic Neuropathology, III: Intracranial hemorrhage--spontaneous versus traumatic, Journal of Forensic Sciences 7, pp. 158-188
-----. (1962, December) Punch drunk: Its pathogenesis and pathology on the basis of a verified case, Bulletin of the Los Angeles Neurological Society 27, pp. 160-168
-----. (1964, June) The mechanism of boxing fatalities, Bulletin of the Los Angeles Neurological Society 29:2, pp. 59-69
Cousteau, J. P. (1993) Myocardial contusion during boxing, American Journal of Cardiology 71, p. 493
Cowart, V. S. (1989) Amateur boxing, Journal of the American Medical Association 262, p. 500
Critchley, M. (1957) Medical aspects of boxing, British Medical Journal 1, p. 357
Cruikshank, J. K., Higgens, C. S., and Gray, J. R. (1980) Two cases of acute intracranial hemorrhage in young amateur boxers, Lancet 1, pp. 626-627
Curfman, G. D. (1998, June 18) Fatal impact--concussion of the heart, New England Journal of Medicine 338:25, pp. 1841-1843
Davie, C. A., Pirtosek, Z., Barker, G. J. Kingsley, D. P., Miller, P. H., and Lees, A. J. (1995) Magnetic resonance spectroscopic study of parkinsonism related to boxing, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 58, pp. 688-691
Drake, David F. and Cifu, David (2002) Repetitive head injury syndrome, E-medicine http://www.emedicine.com/sports/topic113.htm
Elia, Joseph Charles (1962) Traumatic headache associated with the profession of boxing, Headache 2, pp. 138-146
-----. (1971) Head injuries in boxing, International Surgery 56, pp. 334-343
Enzenauer, R. W., Mauldin, W. M. (1989, May) Boxing-related ocular injuries in the United States Army, 1980 to 1985, Southern Medical Journal 82:5 pp. 547-549
Enzenauer, R. W., Montrey, J. S., Enzenauer, R.J., Mauldin, W. M. (1989, March) Boxing-related injuries in the US Army, 1980 through 1985, Journal of the American Medical Association 261, pp. 1463-1466
Evans, Randolph W. (1992) The postconcussion syndrome and the sequelae of mild head injury, Neurologic Clinics 10, pp. 815-847
Fausset, C. Basil (1958, January) Neurological situations related to athletic injuries, Journal of the Indiana State Medical Association 31, pp. 36-39
Finney, J. L. (1989) Boxing in the army, Journal of the American Medical Association 262, p. 2089
Fish, Mike (2002, September 20) The boxing boondoggle: Referees, doctors hip deep in conflicting interests, Sport Illustrated http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/mike_fish/news/2002/09/20/fish_boxing
Giovinazzo, Vincent J., Yanunuzzi, Lawrence A., Sorenson, John A., Delrowe, Daniel J., and Cambell, Edwin A. (1987, June) The ocular complications of boxing, Ophthalmology 94:6, pp. 587-596
Gonzales, T. A. (1951) Fatal injuries in competitive sports, Journal of the American Medical Association 146, pp. 1506-1511
Govons, S. R. (1968) Brain concussion and posture: The knockdown blow of the boxing ring, Confinia Neurologica 30, pp. 77-84
Graham, J. W. (1955, January 22) Professional boxing and the doctor, British Medical Journal, pp. 219-221
Grossarthmaticek, R., Eysenck, H. J., Rieder, H. and Rakic, L. (1990) Psychological factors as determinants of success in football and boxing. The effects of behaviour therapy, International Journal of Sport Psychology 21, pp. 237-255
Gunn, M. (1995) The legality of boxing, 15 Legal Studies (2) 181, pp. 194-195
Guterman, Andrew and Smith, Robert W. (1987) Neurological sequalae of boxing, Sports Medicine 4, pp. 194-210
Guttman, E. and Winterstein, C. E. (1938, March) Disturbances of consciousness after head injuries: Observations on boxers, Journal of Mental Science 84, pp. 347-351
Haglund, Y. and Eriksson, E. (1993, January-February) Does amateur boxing lead to chronic brain damage? A review of some recent investigations, American Journal of Sports Medicine 21, pp. 97-109 http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0918/is_n1_v21/ai_13381658
Haines, Jr., J. D. (1994) Let’s stop boxing in the Olympics and the US military, Journal of the American Medical Association 272, p. 1821
Hall, C. W., Deckart, D. E., Nunemaker, M. E., and Crawford, R. A. (1952, August) Acute traumatic subdural hematoma: Report of a case with slight trauma from boxing, Journal of the Kansas Medical Society, pp. 377-378
Harris, C. Harris, DiRusso, S., Sullivan, T., and Benzil, D.L. (2004, May) Mortality risk after head injury increases at 30 years, Journal of American College of Surgeons 198:5, pp. 852-853
Harvey, P. K .P. and Newsom Davis, J. (1974, October 19) Traumatic encephalopathy in a young boxer, Lancet, pp. 928-929
Heilbronner, R. L., Henry, G. K., and Carson-Brewer, M. (1991) Neuropsychologic test performance in amateur boxers, American Journal of Sports Medicine 19, pp. 376-380
Hernandez, Manuel and Ufberg, Jacob W. (2001) Boxer’s fracture, E-medicine http://www.emedicine.com/aaem/topic53.htm
Hof, P. R., Bouras, C., Buee, L., Delacourte, A. Perl, D. P., and Morrison, J. H. (1992) Differential distribution of neurofibrillary tangles in the cerebral cortex of dementia pugilistica and Alzheimer’s disease cases, Acta Neuropathologica 85, pp. 23-30
Holzgraefe, M., Lemme, W., Funke, W., and Felix, R. (1992) The significance of diagnostic imaging in acute and chronic brain damage in boxing: A prospective study in amateur boxing using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), International Journal of Sports Medicine 13, pp. 616-620
Hussey, H. H. (1976) Punch drunk, Journal of the American Medical Association 236, p. 485
Isherwood, I., Mawdsley, C., and Ferguson, F. R. (1966) Pneumoencephalographic changes in boxers, Acta Radiologica: Diagnosis 5, pp. 654-661
Jokl, E. (1947) Fatal cerebral injury in boxers, Lancet 1, p. 888
Jokl, E. and Guttman, E. (1933) Neurologisch-psychiatrische Untersuchung an Boxern, Münch. Med. Woch. 1, p. 560
Johnson, J., Skorecki, J., and Wells, R. P. (1975, May) Peak accelerations of the head experienced in boxing, Medical and Biological Engineering, pp. 396-403
Johnson, John. (1969). Organic psychosyndromes due to boxing, British Journal of Psychiatry 115, pp. 45-53
Jordan, Barry D. (1993) Medical Aspects of Boxing. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press
Jordan, Barry D., Matser, Eric J. T., Zimmerman, Robert D., and Zazula, Tania (1996, May) Sparring and cognitive function in professional boxers. The Physician and Sportsmedicine 24:5, http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1996/05_96/jordan2.htm
Jordan, Barry D., Voy, Robert O., and Stone, Jennifer (1990, February) Amateur boxing injuries at the US Olympic training center, The Physician and Sportsmedicine 18:2, pp. 81-90
Kaplan, Harry A. and Browder, Jefferson (1954, November 20) Observations on the clinical and brain wave patterns of professional boxers, Journal of the American Medical Association 156:12, pp. 1138-1144
Kaste, M., Vilkki J., Sainio, K., Kuurne, T., Katevuo, K., and Meurala, H. (1982, November 27) Is chronic brain damage in boxing a hazard of the past? Lancet, pp. 1186-1188
Kelly, J. P., Nichols, J. S., Filley, C. M., Lillehei, K. O., Rubinstein, D., and Kleinschmidt-DeMasters, B. K. (1991) Concussion in sports. Guidelines for the prevention of catastrophic outcome, Journal of the American Medical Association 266, pp. 2867-2869
Kewalramani, L. S., Orth, M. S., and Krauss, Jess F. (1981) Cervical spine injuries resulting from collision sports, International Medical Society of Paraplegia 19, pp. 301-312
La Cava, Giuseppe (1963) Boxer’s encephalopathy, Journal of Sports Medicine 3, pp. 87-92
Lampert, P. W. and Hardman, J. M. (1984) Morphologic changes in brains of boxers, Journal of the American Medical Association 251, pp. 2676-2679
Larsen, L. E., Melin, K. A., Nordstrøm-Øhrberg, G., Silfverskiøld, B. P., and Øhrberg, K. (1954) Acute head injuries in boxers: Clinical and electroencephalographic studies, Acta psychologica et neurologica Scandinavica (Suppl. 95), pp. 1-42
Leach, A., McGalliard, J., Dwyer, M. H., and Wong, D. (1992) Ocular injuries from boxing, British Medical Journal 304, pp. 839-840
Leach, R. E. (1993) The sport of boxing, American Journal of Sports Medicine 21, p. 1
Lundberg. G. D. (1994). Let’s stop boxing in the Olympics and the United States military, Journal of the American Medical Association 271, p. 1790
Maguire, Joseph I. and Benson, William (1986, May 9) Retinal injury and detachment in boxers, Journal of the American Medical Association 255:18, pp. 2451-2453
Mahony, C. (2000, February 24) Injury time, Nursing Times 96:8, pp. 14-15; see also (1995, February 1) Nursing Times 91:5, pp. 52-54
Maron, Barry J., Poliac, Liviu C., Kaplan, James A., and Mueller, Frederick O. (1995, August 10) Blunt impact to the chest leading to sudden death from cardiac arrest during sports activities, New England Journal of Medicine 333:6, pp. 337-342
Martland, Harrison S. (1928). Punch drunk, Journal of the American Medical Association 91, pp. 1103-1107
Marwick, C. (1993) Protecting boxers who won’t quit, Journal of the American Medical Association 269, p. 1083
Matser, Eric, Kessels, J. T., Alphons, G. H., Lezak, Muriel D., Troost, Jaap, and Jordan, Barry D. (2000, January) Acute traumatic brain injury in amateur boxing, Physician and Sportsmedicine 28:1, http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/2000/01_00/matser.htm
Mawdsley, C. and Ferguson, F. R. (1963, October 19) Neurological disease in boxers, Lancet, pp. 795-800
McLeod, D. (1992) Ocular injuries from boxing, British Medical Journal 304, p. 197
Mendez, M.F. (1995) The neuropsychiatric aspects of boxing, International Journal of Psychiatry Medicine 25:3, pp. 249-262
Miele, Vincent J, Carson, Larry, Carr, Ann, and Bailes, Julian E. (2004, November) Acute or chronic subdural hematoma in a female boxer: A case report, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 36:11, pp. 1852-1855
Millspaugh, J. A. (1937) Dementia pugilistica, U.S. Naval Medicine Bulletin 35, pp. 297-303
Morrison, Robert Glenn (1986, May 9) Medical and public health aspects of boxing, Journal of American Medical Association 255:18, pp. 2475-2480
Moxon, J. E .U. (1992) Boxing injuries, British Medical Journal 305, p. 1438
National Health and Medical Research Council. 1994. Boxing injuries, Canberra: Australian Government Printing Service, http://www.health.gov.au/nhmrc/publications/pdf/si1.pdf
National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health (2002) MEDLINE Plus: Head and brain injuries, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/headandbraininjuries.html
Neuberger, Karl T., Sinton, David W., and Denst, John (1959) Cerebral atrophy associated with boxing, American Medical Association Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry 81, pp. 403-408
O’Connor, Francis G., Kugler, John P., and Oriscello, Ralph G. (1998, June) Sudden death in young athletes: screening for the needle in a haystack, American Family Physician, http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3225/is_n11_v57/ai_20881341
Ohhashi, G., Tani, S., Murakami, S., Kamio, M., Abe, T, and Ohtuki, J. (2002, February) Problems in health management of professional boxers in Japan, British Journal of Sports Medicine 36, pp. 346-352, http://bjsm.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/36/5/346#R8
Okeke, L. I., Dogo, D., Ladipo, J. K. and Ajao, O. G. (1993) Crush injuries of the hand, African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences 22, pp. 69-72
Pappas, Evangelos. (2007, October 1) Boxing, wrestling and martial arts related injuries treated in emergency departments in the United States, 2002-2005, Journal of Sports Science and Medicine 6(CSSI-2), 58-61, http://www.jssm.org/content_cssi2.php
Parker, Harry L. (1934, July) Traumatic encephalopathy (“punch drunk”) of professional pugilists, Journal of Neurology and Psychopathology 15, pp. 20-28
Patton, Joe H., Kralovich, Kurt A., Cuschieri, Joseph, and Gasparri, Mario (2000) Clearing the cervical spine in victims of blunt assault to the head and neck: What is necessary? American Surgeon 66:4, http://www.onlinejournal.net/sesc-TAS/2000/66/4/html/66_4_326.html
Paul, Milroy (1957, February 16) A fatal injury at boxing (traumatic decerebrate rigidity), British Medical Journal, pp. 364-366
Payne, J. P. (1993) Boxing injuries, British Medical Journal 306, p. 212
Pearn, John (2000) Boxing, brains and balls, Medicine Today 1, http://www.clinipath.com.au/~loulewis/profpearnmay2000.html
Pelech, Andrew N. (2006, August 18) Coronary artery anomalies, Emedicine, http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2506.htm
Plant, J. R., and Butt, J. C. (1993) Laceration of vertebral artery: An historic boxing death, American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 14, pp. 61-64
Porter, M., O’Brien, M. (1996, April) Incidence and severity of injuries resulting from amateur boxing in Ireland, Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine 6:2, pp. 97-101
Richards, P. (1993) Boxing and the neurosurgeon, British Journal of Neurosurgery 7, pp. 595-596
Roberts, A. H. (1969) Brain damage in boxers: A study of the prevalence of traumatic encephalopathy among ex-professional boxers, London: Pitman Medical & Scientific Publishing Co.
Roberts, G. W., Allsop, D., and Bruton, C. (1990) The occult aftermath of boxing, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 53, pp. 373-378
Ross, R. T. and Ochsner, M. G. Jr. (1999, January) Acute intracranial boxing-related injuries in U.S. Marine Corps recruits: report of two cases, Military Medicine 164:1, pp. 68-70
Ryan, A. J. (1992) Banning boxing, Physician and Sportsmedicine 20, p. 29
Schmid, L. (1970) Kidney lesions in boxing, Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 10, pp. 265-268
Schmid, L., Hajek, E., Votipka, F., Teprik, O., and Blonstein, J. L. (1968) Experiences with headgear in boxing, Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 8, pp. 171-176
Schmidt-Olsen, S., Jensen, S. K., and Mortensen V. (1990) Amateur boxing in Denmark: The effect of some preventive measures, American Journal of Sports Medicine 18, pp. 98-100
Schwartz, Michael L., Hudson, Alan R., Fernie, Geoffrey R, Hayashi, Ken, and Coleclough, Allan A. (1986) Biomechanical study of full-contact karate contrasted with boxing, Journal of Neurosurgery 64, pp. 248-252
Sercl, M. and Jaros, O. (1962, May) The mechanisms of cerebral concussion in boxing and their consequences, World Neurology 3, pp. 351-358
Siegler, J. (1993) The dangers of boxing: Damage not confined to the brain, British Medical Journal 307, p. 379
Spillane, John D. (1962, November 10) Five boxers, British Medical Journal 2, pp. 1205-1210
Stenning, W. (1992) Boxing, Medical Journal of Australia 156, pp. 76-77
Swartzberg, D. (1995) Air Force Academy ends mandatory boxing activity, Journal of the American Medical Association 274, p. 784
Temmes, Yrjö and Huhmar, Erkki (1952) Electro-encephalographic changes in boxers, Acta Psychologica et Neurologica Scandinavia 27, pp. 175-180
Thomassen, Anne, Juul-Jensen, Palle, Olivarius, Bent de Fine, Braemer, Jørgen, and Christensen, Anne-Lise (1979) Neurological, electroencephalographic and neuropsychological examination of 53 former amateur boxers, Acta Neurologica Scandinavia 60, pp. 352-362
Unterharnscheidt, Friedrich (1970, Winter) About boxing: Review of historical and medical aspects, Texas Reports on Biology and Medicine 28:4, pp. 421-495
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-----. (2003) Boxing: Medical Aspects, Julia Taylor Unterharnscheidt (Editor). London and San Diego: Academic Press
Uzych, L. (1992) Banning boxing, Physician and Sportsmedicine 20, p. 29
Valentino, B., Esposito, L. C., and Fabozzo, A. (1990) Electromyographic activity of a muscular group in movements specific to boxing, Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 30, pp. 160-162
Voy, R. O. (1989) Amateur boxing, Journal of the American Medical Association 262, pp. 499-500
Whiteson, A. (1992) Ocular injuries from boxing, British Medical Journal 304, p. 574
Winterstein, C. E. (1937, September 18) Head injuries attributable to boxing, Lancet 2, pp. 719-720
Zazryn, T. R., Finch, C. F., and McCrory, P. (2003, August) 16 year study of injuries to professional boxers in the state of Victoria, Australia, British Journal of Sports Medicine 37:4, pp. 321-324
Zazryn, T.R., Cameron, P., and McCrory, P. (2006, June) A prospective cohort study of injury in amateur and professional boxing, British Journal of Sports Medicine 40, pp. 670-674
Part 2: Some Significant Legal Decisions that Followed Ring Deaths
Regina v. Young, (1866) 10 Cox 371, established the legal precedent that death "caused by an injury received in a friendly sparring match, which is not a thing likely to cause death... is not manslaughter, unless the parties fight on until the sport becomes dangerous." (Henry Roscoe, Roscoe's Digest of the Law of Evidence in Criminal Cases, Eighth American Edition, volume II, Philadelphia, 1888, p. 912.)
Seville v. State, 15 L.R.A. 516, 49 Ohio St. 117, 27 W.L.B. 258, 30 N.E. 621 (March 2, 1892). In this case, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that it didn't matter if Queensberry or London Prize Ring rules were being used. Instead, "what was it, in plain English?" It was a fight for money. Consequently, the conviction of the survivor, Seville, on the charge of prizefighting was upheld. Two years later, however, in State v. Olympic Club, 24 L.R.A. 452, 15 So 190 (April 1894), a Louisiana court ruled that state laws prohibiting bare-knuckled prizefighting did not apply to gloved contests sponsored by regularly chartered athletic clubs. Instead, if the state wanted to ban gloved contests as well as bare-knuckle prizefights, then new laws would be required.
Parmentier v. McGinnie, et al., 157 Wis. 596, 147 N.W. 1007 (1914). In this case, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the boxing match was not the proximate cause of Parmentier's death; consequently, Parmentier's father was not entitled to recover damages from the promoters (McGinnie, et al.) This was not, however, a unanimous decision. Wrote the dissenting justice: "It seems to me that the deceased was killed in a fight, and that no other conclusion is warranted by the credible evidence."
McAdams v. Windham, 208 Ala. 492, 94 So. 742, 30 A.L.R. 194, Nov. 30, 1922. In its finding on behalf of Windham, the Alabama Supreme Court noted that "it is a general rule of law that a blow thus inflicted in a friendly, mutual combat -- a mere sporting contest -- is not unlawfully inflicted." Instead, so long as no one was guilty of reckless or negligent conduct, "participants in a violent game have assumed the risk ordinarily incident to their sport."
Gustafson v. New York Life Ins. Co., 55 F.2d 235 (February 19, 1931). The death of the boxer was ruled accidental, so a Pennsylvania court ruled that the boxer’s beneficiaries were entitled to double indemnity for his accidental death, exactly as stated in the policy. See also Philippine Jurisprudence, G.R. No. L-21574, June 30, 1966, SIMON DE LA CRUZ vs. CAPITAL INSURANCE and SURETY CO., INC.: “Death or disablement resulting from engagement in boxing contests was not declared outside of the protection of the insurance contract. Failure of the defendant insurance company to include death resulting from a boxing match or other sports among the prohibitive risks leads inevitably to the conclusion that it did not intend to limit or exempt itself from liability for such death.”
Hart v. Geysel, 159 Wash. 632, 294 P. 570, 1930. The question asked here was, could a case for wrongful death be brought when both parties had consented to an unlawful fight? The answer in this case was no. The promoters were also charged in a separate case, and that led to a delay in the legalization of professional boxing in Washington State. Compare, however, to Teeters v. Frost et. ux., 1930 OK 467, 145 Okla. 273, 292 P. 356, in which the Oklahoma judges ruled for the parents of the deceased and against the promoter (Teeters), saying that a boxing contest for money was a prizefight, no matter what euphemism you used to describe it, and adding that describing a prizefight as a "friendly sparring match" was akin to "describing a wild poker game and then terming it Sunday School." The Oklahoma court also ruled that, in Oklahoma, "each person injured in mutual combat may recover from other all damages caused by injuries, assumption of risk rule not applying."
Rosensweig v. State, 5 N.Y.2d 404, 158 N.E.2d 229, 185 N.Y.S.2d 521 (N.Y. Apr 09, 1959) (NO. 31049). The Court ruled that the State Athletic Commission was not responsible for the medical decisions of ringside physicians. Nonetheless, this case directly contributed to New York State Athletic Commission introducing a mandatory 30-day break between knockouts. A tie-in civil case settled out of court in 1957 contributed to the demise of the International Boxing Corporation.
Classen v. State of New York, 131 Misc. 2d 346 (1985)/500 N.Y.S. 2d 460 (Ct. Cl. 1985) and Classen v. Izquierdo, 137 Misc. 2d 489 (1987)/ 520 N.Y.S. 2d 999 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1987). In the first case, the higher court ruled that there was no malpractice liability for the doctor who cleared Classen to fight because the doctor had followed accepted procedures. In the second, the higher court ruled that the ringside physician's duty to the athlete was the same inside the ring as it was inside a hospital or clinic. That is, he needed to follow accepted medical practice. Consequently, a failure to stop a fight on medical grounds could constitute malpractice if it was determined that the decision was contrary to accepted medical practice. The courts' emphasis on accepted procedures and standards was part of the reason for a subsequent New York State Athletic Commission requirement for promoters to have ambulances on site during boxing matches.
Martinez v. U.S. Olympic Committee, C.A. 10 (N.M.), 1986, 802 F. 2d 1275, 55 USLW 2216, 5 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1253. The personal representative of an amateur boxer who died from injuries received in a tournament had no claim against the US Olympic Committee.
Estate of Gross v. Three Rivers Inn Inc., 238 A.D. 2d 12, 667 N.Y.S. 2d 71, 1997 N.Y. Slip Op. 11247. A professional boxer was not entitled to workers’ compensation coverage in New York.
Foronda v. Hawaii International Boxing Club, Civil No. 96 Hawai'i, 25 P.3d 826. The state Supreme Court ruled that the risk of falling was an inherent risk of sport, and that, while the gym did not have all the latest safety equipment, there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate defective equipment, supervision, or coaching.
Stacy Young Act of 2004 (Section 548.008, Florida Statutes). Following the death of a female Toughman fighter, no amateur boxing or kickboxing match could be held in Florida without approval from a sanctioned organization, and all mixed martial arts tournaments were prohibited.
Scottland v. Duva Boxing LLC, 109169/04. In 2004, Scottland's widow filed suit against the ringside physicians, alleging that they failed their duty to exercise reasonable care by stopping the fight. The judge ruled that the case was grounded in medical malpractice rather than negligence, and then dismissed the case because it was filed after New York's 30-month statute of limitations on malpractice had expired.