By John T. Wendt, J.D., M.A., Professor Emeritus, Ethics and Business Law – University of St. Thomas
Isaac Dixon was an 18-year-old hockey defenseman from Rothsay, New Brunswick who played for the New Brunswick’s Grand Falls Rapids in Canada’s Junior Hockey League. On a December 30, 2020, game between Grand Falls Rapids and the Edmundston Blizzard, Dixon was checked from behind into the boards and fell to the ice. [i] Videos show the incident and injury.[ii] According to Dixon, after passing the puck to a teammate Dixon was struck from behind Blizzard defenseman Jeremy Duguay. Dixon alleges that Duguay first rammed his elbow into Dixon’s chest then kneed the back of Dixon’s leg which threw Dixon off balance. Dixon them alleges that Duguay cross checked him and continued to force Dixon backwards into the boards. Dixon alleges that the impact resulted in severe back pain and paralysis in his legs.[iii]
Dixon claimed that he immediately felt severe back pain and was unable to move his legs. He thought he broke his back and needed an ambulance. He alleges that despite his protests, the members of the Blizzard staff simply told him to try to get up.[iv] He also claims that the Blizzard staff directed Dixon’s teammates to place Dixon on a patient transfer board, pick up the board and carry Dixon to the locker room.[v] Additionally Dixon claims that although he was placed on a patient transfer board, the staff never stabilized his neck and head, was never immobilize him before, during or after being transported on the board and was held onto the board by a simple strap.[vi]
Dixon alleges that on numerous occasions he continued to ask for an ambulance. Instead, Dixon claimed that after he was taken to the locker room a member of the Blizzard training staff turned him onto his side, felt along his spine, and remarked that “nothing looked to be wrong…”[vii] He alleges that again he was told to try to get up.
Dixon also alleges that there was no ambulance at the arena, Jean-Daigle Center in Edmundston during the game.[viii] After an ambulance was called and did arrive Dixon was transported to Edmundston Regional Hospital where it was determined that there was a burst fracture of a vertebra, resulting in a spinal cord injury. He was then transported to Moncton Hospital for emergency surgery.
Dixon is claiming that he has paraplegia and has filed a lawsuit in the Court of King’s Bench in Saint-Jean, New Brunswick, Canada against seven defendants (Case SJC-477-2022). The defendants in the lawsuit include the Grand Falls Rapids, the Edmundston Blizzard, and Jeremy Duguay, the player who hit Dixon. Dixon also claimed that the defendants Maritime Junior Hockey League and Canadian Junior Hockey League did not make sure that there were safety rules in place or that they were followed by the members of the leagues. Dixon is also suing AIG Insurance Company of Canada, which handles claims for amateur hockey players for Hockey Canada. Dixon’s suit against AIG claims that his policy calls for a payment of $1.5 million dollars in the event of an injury that results in paraplegia with an additional compensation of up to $50,000 for rehabilitation costs.[ix] In August 2022, AIG denied Dixon’s claim. Finally, he is suing Hockey Canada because AIG has not paid Dixon’s claims.[x]
Hockey Canada has developed a website to provide resources “to ensure minor hockey is one of the safest youth sports activities in Canada by providing information and resources for everyone involved in the game.”[xi] On their website it has posted downloadable regulations, booklets, medical information, and emergency action plans. These include an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for a serious injury on the ice such as Dixon’s. Their EAP suggests that the coach, manager, and safety person should design, develop, and implement an EAP at the beginning of the season and ensure that they have enough volunteers required for the EAP. [xii]
Dixon’s injury ended his career as a hockey player, but after extensive rehabilitation treatments he was able to start playing golf again with the help of a motorized care and is now a member of Paragolf Canada.[xiii] On July 10, 2021, Dixon was one of the featured players in the New Brunswick Men’s Amateur Championship.[xiv]
[i] Pascal Raiche-Nogue, Un jeune hockeyeur blessé poursuit le Blizzard, les Rapides et Hockey Canada, Radio-Canada (2023), https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1991395/isaac-dixon-blessure-poursuite-hockey (last visited Jul 18, 2023).
[ii] Sam Farley, Hockey Player Takes to Courts after Career-Ending Paraplegic Injury, CBC (2023), https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/isaac-dixon-junior-hockey-lawsuit-1.6890263 (last visited Jul 18, 2023).
[iii] Elliot Ben Jacob, Ex-Hockey Player Files Lawsuit Against Hockey Canada Over Career-Halting Injury, Daily Hockey Dose (2023), https://www.dailyhockeydose.com/Ex-Hockey-Player-Files-Lawsuit-Against-Hockey-Canada-Over-Career-Halting-Injury-251162 (last visited Jul 27, 2023).
[iv] Farley, supra note 2. Pictures and videos show the incident and Dixon’s teammates skating across the rink with Dixon on a patient transfer board.
[v] Id.
[vi] Raiche-Nogue, supra note 1.
[vii] TJ Tucker, Former Player Sues Hockey Canada and Several Others after Career-Ending Injury, Bladeofsteel (2023), https://www.bladeofsteel.com/Former-Player-Sues-Hockey-Canada-and-Several-Others-after-Career-Ending-Injury-250804 (last visited Jul 27, 2023).
[viii] Raiche-Nogue, supra note 1.
[ix] Id.
[x] Farley, supra note 2.
[xi] Hockey Canada, Hockey Canada Safety Downloads and Resources, (2022), https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/hockey-programs/safety/essentials/downloads (last visited Jul 19, 2023).
[xii] Hockey Canada, Hockey Canada Emergency Action Plan: Safety Persons and Trainers, (2022), https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/hockey-programs/safety/essentials/emergency-action-plans/safety-person-trainer (last visited Jul 19, 2023).
[xiii] Raiche-Nogue, supra note 1.
[xiv] Golf New Brunswick, Westfield’s Stuart Earle Sneaks into the Lead after a Successful Moving Day in Bathurst, (Jul. 10, 2021), https://www.golfnb.ca/articles/westfields-stuart-earle-sneaks-into-the-lead-after-a-successful-moving-day-in-bathurst/ (last visited Jul 18, 2023).
