The Sage v. Renner court decision was released by the British Columbia Supreme Court in Kelowna on September 11, 2007.

Doug Sage and Robert Renner both had teenage sons playing on the same lacrosse team. Mr. Sage was assisting with the coaching of the team. On June 8, 2002, after the end of a game, Mr. Sage and Mr. Renner had an altercation in the hallway near the dressing room. Mr. Renner wanted to discuss how Mr. Sage was coaching the team and Mr. Sage refused. After some words were exchanged, Mr. Renner head-butted Mr. Sage on the forehead. Mr. Sage fell backwards through the door and struck his head on the concrete privacy wall. Mr. Sage suffered a broken and lacerated nose and a concussion.

The police were called and Mr. Renner was arrested and charged with assault causing bodily harm. He was released on conditions and the matter came to trial. He initially pleaded not guilty, but in the course of the trial changed his plea to guilty of assault.

Mr. Sage hired a Kelowna personal injury lawyer and sued Mr. Renner for damages as a result of the assault. At trial, Mr. Renner denied that he had head-butted Mr. Sage. He testified that he merely approached Mr. Sage for a discussion about the game when Mr. Sage became enraged and commenced spitting and shouting profanities. He said that their heads accidentally brushed together.

Mr. Sage’s treating physician testified that Mr. Sage developed thoracic outlet syndrome as a result of the assault. Mr. Sage had a congenital anomaly which made him susceptible to thoracic outlet syndrome if assaulted. Mr. Renner argued that Mr. Sage’s pre-existing degenerative disc disease was responsible for his symptoms. He also suggested that Mr. Sage was faking or exaggerating his injuries. The court rejected Mr. Renner’s argument and found that the head-butt was a contributing cause of a thoracic outlet syndrome.

The court found that Mr. Renner’s testimony was inconsistent with the injuries suffered by Mr. Sage and the testimony of other witnesses. As a result, they found Mr. Renner to be responsible for Mr. Sage’s injuries.

The court noted that prior to the incident Mr. Sage, enjoyed an extremely active lifestyle. As a result of this incident, he suffers from the chronic pain associated with the thoracic outlet syndrome. He also experienced a number of psychological problems of some significance, including sleep disturbance, headaches, depression, anxiety, significant forgetfulness, emotional lability, and irritability. As a result, Mr. Sage was offered the following damages:

• $65,000 for non-pecuniary loss (General damages for pain & suffering)
• $40,000 for future lost wages
• $10,000 for aggravated damages

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