By Corrections1 Staff
MANSFIELD, Ohio — An Ohio appeals court reversed the decision to award $4.3 million to a former inmate who was paralyzed during a flag football game while in prison, according to The Associated Press.
The inmate, Eric Schnetz who was serving a one-year sentence for domestic violence suffered a broken neck and subsequent loss of the use of his arms and legs during a tackle in 2004.
Schnetz says the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction acted negligently because an officer didn’t intervene to stop the action.
The state was originally ordered to pay Schnetz $4.3 million in damages and an additional $80,000 to his three kids, but the state appealed, arguing there was no intentional or reckless negligence. The state says Schnetz voluntarily played a game he knew was against prison rules which allow only flag football without full contact, according to the article.
The appeals court found Schnetz caused his own physical harm by initiating a tackle. The court ruled it wasn’t a corrections officer’s duty to protect Schnetz from the risk of voluntarily playing football and making tackles.