Court of Claims approved a $275,000 settlement for a boxer’s death.
In December 2015, a 19-year-old boxer died from head injuries he suffered in his professional debut in Youngstown, Ohio. His family filed a $25 million lawsuit against the Ohio Athletic Commission (OAC) in 2017. The legal standoff ended recently with $275,000 settlement approved by the Ohio Court of Claims.
By way of background, the boxer’s father, Ali Al-Jahmi, accused the commission of licensing and assigning an unqualified referee and ringside physician to the “Season’s Beatings” boxing event. Al-Jahmi’s son, Hamzah, had been boxing since he was 12-years-old and was fighting his first professional bout in the 114-pound Flyweight division.
Hamzah was knocked down three times in the first round. In the fourth round, Hamzah fell without being hit and attributed his fall to a twisted knee. He then laid on his back in the ring and went unconscious. Ringside medics rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he died three days later.
Father Blames Bout Officials, Commission for Son’s Death
Hamzah traveled from his home in Dearborn, Michigan, to take part in the boxing matches at Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Hall in Youngstown. Ohio. He faced an opponent from the nearby town of Warren, Ohio. Al-Jahmi was ringside the night of the fight near Hamzah’s trainer, Mohamed Hamood.
In round one, Hamzah was first knocked down by what his trainer described as a “flash knockdown,” where a blow stuns a boxer, and the boxer quickly gets up and is fine. After the second knockdown, Hamood said Hamzah was fixing his shorts as the referee counted and completed a “stagger step,” stepping to the side once to show the referee the boxer has the composure to continue. Then, Hamzah was pushed down to the mat for the final knockdown of the round.
Hamood testified that he contemplated ending the fight, but communicated with Hamzah between rounds one and two and said he would have complained if referee Wilfredo Osorio tried to stop the fight. Hamzah was scored as the winner of rounds two and three. In the fourth round, Hamzah fell to the ground, and Hamood stated that Hamzah had complained that he had twisted his knee and could not stand up. Hamood waved in the ringside doctor, James Armile, to enter the ring. Armile had Hamzeh lay on his back, and the boxer became unresponsive. Emergency medical technicians assigned to the event were making their observations as the bouts took place. Before Hamzah’s collapse, EMT Stephanie Schiavone was concerned about Hamzah’s condition and requested an ambulance be dispatched to the location. An ambulance transported Hamzah to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery for a traumatic brain injury. He died three days later from the injuries.
Al-Jahmi filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the OAC, formerly known as the State Boxing Commission, in December 2017. The lawsuit alleged the commission and its executive director were negligent or reckless in selecting Osorio as the referee and Armile as the physician. The lawsuit argued that Osorio had a duty to recognize that Hamzah suffered from a concussion during the first round and that the fight should have been stopped. The suit also claimed Armile failed to recognize the seriousness of Hamzah’s injuries from the first-round knockdowns and should have recommended to Osorio that the fight be stopped.
The lawsuit claimed that had the concussion symptoms been recognized, Hamzah would not have sustained additional injuries and could have recovered from the concussion. Hamzah’s family sought $25 million in damages.
Commission Disputed Allegations
In March 2018, the OAC sought summary judgment from the Court of Claims, making several arguments, including that it had statutory immunity and that Hamzah assumed the risk of injury as a boxer. The commission also noted that Hamzah acknowledged the dangers of boxing and signed waivers releasing the commission of any liability. The Court of Claims granted the OAC summary judgment on some of its claims. The Court found the OAC was protected by law against some of Al-Jahmi’s claims, but noted that more evidence was required to determine if the commission’s actions were reckless. In May 2020, the Court ruled the commission was immune from the lawsuit for the appointments of Osorio and Armile.
Al-Jahmi appealed the decision to the Tenth District Court of Appeals. In June 2022, the Tenth District remanded the case to the Court of Claims, finding immunity did not protect OAC against claims that it was reckless in the appointment of Osorio and Armile. The Tenth District also ruled that the OAC’s immunity protection does not apply to the allegation that the two officials were reckless in their oversight of the fight.
The Court of Claims scheduled the case for a trial and conducted several pretrial conferences. The parties informed the court that they had reached a settlement. In August, Court of Claims Judge David E. Cain approved a $275,000 payment from the OAC to Al-Jahmi and dismissed the case.
Ali Al-Jahmi v. Ohio Athletic Commission, Case No. 2017-00986JD
