A Blackhawks fan has reportedly filed a personal injury suit against Chicago's United Center more than a year after she was hit in the face by a hockey puck.
In the suit, which was filed Friday, Patricia Higgins claims the United Center should have maintained and inspected safety nets “in order to avoid injury to spectators,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The 56-year-old physician and longtime season ticket holder was hit in the face by a hockey puck last June as she and her daughter sat in their normal seats, in Row 11 on the northwest side of the ice rink.
"All I heard was the stick hitting the puck, so it was that 'slap' sound, and, I mean, within a split second [she was hit]," daughter Caitlin Higgins recalled.
She looked over to see her mom holding her face. The nearly six-ounce, frozen game piece sliced Higgins right above her right eye.
She needed more than 20 internal and external stitches to close the gash and wound up with a bruised retina, inflammation, and a concussion.
U.S. & World
Higgins claims the United Center was careless and negligent in its installation and maintenance of the nets and said she has “sustained injuries, suffered pain, lost wages and medical bills, and will continue to suffer such damages in the future,” according to the lawsuit.
A spokesman for the United Center declined to comment to the Sun-Times on pending litigation. Higgins has not returned NBC Chicago's request for comment.
