Injured in Fight, Hockey Player Loses Appeal for Disability Insurance

A Colorado appeals court has affirmed a lower court’s ruling that a hockey player who injured his hand in a fight is not entitled to disability benefits, since the fight was a premeditated event, not an accident.   Warren Rychel was a left wing for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL) when Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London (Underwriters) sold him a professional athlete disability insurance policy. Rychel filed a claim after injuring his left hand in a fight during