The High Court has ruled in favour of an amateur rugby player who has been paralyzed after a "reckless" tackle.
Dani Czernuszka, 34, won High Court damages of more than £10million.
In October 2017, Czernuszka, a then 28-year-old mother-of-two, came up against Brackell Ladies in an amateur league rugby match playing for the Reading Sirens
Czernuszka now plays para ice hockey for Team Great Britain
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The defendant, Natasha King, said she would “break” Czernuszka, the court was told.
King told her teammates to “smash” Czernuszka, as her side started to dominate the match.
Other members of the Bracknell team had played “in an inappropriately aggressive and intimidatory manner” and that she had become “increasingly frustrated” as the game progressed, Mr Justice Martin Spencer said.
Nearing the end, King was left “humiliated” when trying to tackle Czernuszka, when she is said to have been “looking for an opportunity to get her revenge on the claimant – the red mist had metaphorically descended,” Spencer added.
Moments later, King threw her 16-17 stone weight on to Czernuszka.
The judge added: “Although this was a league match, the nature of the league being developmental meant that the players were still learning the game and it should have been played in that spirit: the players had a duty to be mindful of each other and to play with the understanding that enjoyment and learning were the main objectives, not winning.”
Spencer said whether Czernuszka had the ball at the time of the tackle was “irrelevant” to King, adding: “At that moment she was not attempting to play within the laws of the game, but to exact retribution on the claimant.”
He concluded: “I do not find that the defendant intended to injure the claimant, indeed that is not alleged against her.
Czernuszka said: "I don’t blame the game of rugby for what happened"
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The Court heard that King was not penalised by the match referee.
“I do find, though, that the ‘tackle’ was executed with reckless disregard for the claimant’s safety in a manner which was liable to cause injury and that the defendant was so angry by this time that she closed her eyes to the risk to which she was subjecting the claimant.”
Following the judgment, 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 life-changing 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.”
The £10million compensation accounts for the lifelong cost of Czernuszka's disability and will be paid by the Bracknell club's insurer, said a spokesperson for the law firm representing Czernuszka.
Czernuszka now plays para ice hockey for Team Great Britain, winning gold with them at the World Para Ice Hockey championships in Bangkok in 2022.
