CdM man sues after he’s hit and hurt in soccer game by another player’s arm cast

A Corona del Mar man has filed a negligence lawsuit against the city of Newport Beach and a local sports league, alleging that he was seriously hurt during a soccer game when he collided with an opposing player who was wearing a cast on his arm.

The plaintiff, Dani Rothenberg, now has medical bills and possible long-term consequences from the cast hitting him on the head, which required doctors to attach metal plates to his orbital bones, according to his lawyer

“He got hit pretty hard,” attorney Bryan Garcia said. “He has hardware in his face.”

According to the lawsuit, Rothenberg and another Newport Beach resident, Tyler Hosseini, crashed into each other during an April 1 game at Lincoln Elementary School in Corona del Mar.

Rothenberg’s civil action, filed last week in Orange County Superior Court, names Hosseini as the lead defendant.

But the suit contends the city and the Newport Beach Coed Soccer League also bear responsibility because they shouldn’t have let Hosseini in the game while wearing a cast.

The league uses FIFA — the international soccer federation — rules, which require a referee to inspect players beforehand to make sure they’re not wearing anything dangerous, according to the lawsuit.

“[Hosseini] was further negligent in that he controlled his body, including his arm with an unpadded hard cast, so as to collide with plaintiff and cause harm to his body, including plaintiff’s face,” the document states.

Hosseini did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday. The Newport Beach city attorney’s office declined to comment because it had not yet been served with the lawsuit.

The soccer league is a nonprofit organization that is separate from the city government but has an operating agreement with it, according to Garcia. “It seems like they work together on putting together this league,” he said.

The Daily Pilot could not locate a league representative Friday.

The lawsuit seeks an undetermined amount of money, including punitive damages.

“It’s going to be dependent on medical bills,” Garcia said. “It’s going to be dependent on what the long-term ramifications are, if there are any.”