An ice hockey player says he’s been unable to have sex with his wife since suffering a horror injury during a game.
Ivan Zenchencko, 32, was struck in the head by a puck during a game at the Los Angeles Kings Valley Ice Centre on September 27 2025.
The Los Angeles-based athlete’s protective gear, a Bauer Re-Akt 55 hockey helmet, cracked open and the puck “penetrated his head”, leaving blood gushing across the ice rink, much to the terror of spectators.
Video obtained by the California Post showed Zenchenko standing up after being hit, with the crowd screaming in horror when blood spurted across the ice rink, and the extent of his injuries became clear.
The Russian-born player was rushed to hospital where he was treated for lacerations and a hematoma, a lawsuit has claimed. He suffered immediate memory loss and coordination of eyesight and has not been on the ice since, the suit says.
Sofia Zenchenko, Zenchenko’s wife, has endured “loss of conjugal fellowship, sexual relations, and companionship” due to the extent of her husband’s injuries, with the suit explaining: “To date, he cannot regularly function.”
The athlete’s lawyer Paul Sigelman explained to media: “There are some intimacy problems. They don’t have the same sex life, Ivan is completely disabled.”
The lawyer, who has represented clients including Hollywood icon Milton Berle in a dispute against NBC, added: “That’s a recognized matter in California that if you lose a sexual partner, that’s her loss and she has a right to sue for that.”
Sigelman described it as a “multi-million dollar loss”, but the exact amount the couple is asking for is “not yet fully ascertained.” The lawsuit names defendants Bauer Hockey and the Pure Hockey store in Anaheim, California, where Zenchenko bought the helmet.
“It was selected and recommended by Pure Hockey for Zenchenko’s competition use on the ice. The manufacturing defect and/or the defective design was sold without warning,” the suit reads.
“It is believed, and theron alleged, the helmet differs from manufacturing specifications and design from other typical units of the Bauer Hockey helmet product line.”
Zenchencko has suffered fright, shock, physical impairment, and a traumatic brain injury that has left him unable to work at the exotic car rebuild company where he was employed, according to the lawsuit.
The couple, who moved to Los Angeles less than two years ago and have been living in the San Fernando Valley, now rely on Sofia, who can only speak Russian, to support the family as a housekeeper.
“He’ll be working on a car, and he’ll take this piece off for whatever, and a moment later go to put it back, and he has no memory of where it came from,” Sigelman said, adding: “He’s a very sweet guy. He wants to play hockey again. It was his whole life. His whole life was hockey.”