Description
The case of Benjamin v. State was between 11 year old Thomas Benjamin, the plaintiff, and New York State, the defendant. On November 16, 1979, Benjamin went with this brother and friends to watch a college hockey double header in the evening. They paid for their admission tickets and took the seats on the bleachers. As the first game came to an end, they moved to the concession stand, which was on the opposite side of the field. They purchased a drink, and instead of returning to their original seats, they sat on the second or third row of the bleachers. They were sitting behind the protective fence, about 10 to 15 feet north of the nearest player’s bench when Benjamin was hit by an errant puck on the left side of his forehead when sitting there and suffered a 4 millimeter skull fracture. He spent a month at home before recuperating and returning to school. During this period, the boy complained of pain and experienced difficulties with his equilibrium. Benjamin filed a civil suit against the State arguing that it negligently failed to include adequate protection in the design of the Romney Arena. The court ruled that the state had failed to exercise the duty of care to those sitting in the arena by having not installed a protective fence all round. Benjamin was awarded $24,000 for the consequent damages.