RUSSIAN BOXER MAGOMED Abdusalamov has been awarded a $22 million settlement for severe injuries suffered during a fight which left the former heavyweight contender paralysed on his right side and unable to walk.
Abdusalamov’s family filed a suit for recklessness, gross negligence and medical malpractice by the New York State Athletic Commission during a fight in Madison Square Garden on 2 November 2013.
Their complaint stated that the improper care by the NYSAC, its staff and team of doctors delayed the diagnosis of a blood clot in the boxer’s brain for which Abdusalamov underwent emergency surgery, suffered a series of strokes and was hospitalized for almost a year.
The family’s attorney Paul Edelstein told ESPN that the settlement represented the New York State “taking responsibility for its actions and paying an appropriate amount for the damages caused.”
Speaking through an interpreter about the impending settlement Abdusalamova’s wife Bakanay told ESPN: “I was depressed for a few days, because I always thought by this time Mago would be better and our normal life would return.
“But I came to the realization that although we can’t bring back the Mago of before, this will really help us make his and our family’s life better, and we can pay to get him more treatment without depending on others.”
Abdusalamova received $40,000 for the November 2013 fight with Mike Perez and was given the full $10,000 payout from a mandatory minimum insurance policy.
Cuban boxer Perez settled in Cork in 2008 after catching the eye of Irish promoter Gary Hyde. The 31-year-old later described how he was haunted by what happened to Abdusalamova during the fight four years ago.
“I would trade all of the money to just bring back Mago as he was,” Bakanay Abdusalamova said.
“But that’s not how it works. It cannot buy the happiness we had.”
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