The Illinois Appellate court has ruled that the sponsors of a youth hockey program may be liable for injuries incurred by player hit from behind, if they failed to adequately enforce game rules.  "Organization Defendants" may be liable if their negligence was the cause of willful and wanton behavior leading to the injury.  See Karas v. Strevell 2006 WL 3849138.  Complete discussion appears in Steven P. Garmisa's Trial Notebook column in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, February 21, 2006. 

One wonders about the circumstances that could lead corporate sponsors to be liable for sports injuries.

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