A 32-year-old hockey player in Los Angeles says a defective helmet cracked open during a game, letting a puck strike his head so hard he now suffers memory loss, can't work, and can no longer be intimate with his wife.

Ivan Zenchenko, a Russian-born defender who lives with his wife Sofia in the San Fernando Valley, filed a product liability lawsuit against helmet manufacturer Bauer Hockey and the Anaheim, California, Pure Hockey store where he bought the gear. The suit alleges the Bauer Re-Akt 55 helmet he wore during a USA Hockey-sanctioned game on September 27, 2025, at the LA Kings Valley Ice Center had a manufacturing defect or defective design, and that nobody warned him.

Zenchenko purchased the helmet less than three months before the injury, on July 3, 2025. The lawsuit states Pure Hockey "selected and recommended" the Re-Akt 55 for his competition use on the ice. When a puck struck the helmet during the game, the protective shell cracked open. The puck, the lawsuit states, ended up "penetrating to his head."

Zenchenko was rushed to Valley Presbyterian Hospital that same day. Doctors treated him for lacerations and a hematoma. But the full scope of what happened to him only became clear in the weeks and months that followed.

A helmet that allegedly didn't match its own product line

The lawsuit's central claim is blunt: the helmet Zenchenko wore was not built the way it was supposed to be. Court filings allege the Re-Akt 55 "differs from manufacturing specifications and design from other typical units of the Bauer Hockey helmet product line." In plain terms, the Zenchenkos' legal team argues Ivan got a lemon, a helmet that looked right on the shelf but failed catastrophically when it mattered.

The suit names both Bauer Hockey, the manufacturer, and the Pure Hockey retail location in Anaheim where the helmet was sold. The allegation against Pure Hockey is straightforward: a store employee recommended the helmet for competitive play, and the product was sold "without warning" about any defect.

Neither Bauer Hockey nor Pure Hockey has publicly responded to the claims. The New York Post reached out to both companies for comment; no response was noted in its reporting.

Memory gaps, lost work, and a marriage changed

Paul Sigelman, the attorney representing both Ivan and Sofia Zenchenko, described a man whose daily life has been hollowed out. Zenchenko suffered what the lawsuit calls "fright, shock, physiological impairment and traumatic brain injury." He has not returned to the ice. He cannot work at his previous job rebuilding exotic cars. The filing states flatly: "To date he cannot regularly function."

The memory problems are constant. Sigelman offered one example to illustrate:

"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."

Zenchenko also suffers from impaired coordination and eyesight, according to the suit. Hockey, Sigelman said, defined his client's life.

"He's a very sweet guy. He wants to play hockey again. It was his whole life. His whole life was hockey."

Sofia Zenchenko is named as a separate plaintiff. Her claim is for what California law calls loss of consortium, the loss of companionship, fellowship, and sexual relations with her husband. Sigelman was direct about that dimension of the case:

"There are some intimacy problems. They don't have the same sex life, Ivan is completely disabled."

He added that California law recognizes this kind of harm as a standalone injury to the spouse.

"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."

Sofia Zenchenko now supports the household alone

The couple has lived in Los Angeles for less than two years, according to Sigelman. They live modestly in the San Fernando Valley. Before the injury, Ivan worked and played competitive hockey. Now Sofia has taken a job as a housekeeper and is the sole financial support for both of them.

The lawsuit does not put a final number on damages, stating they are "not yet fully ascertained." But Sigelman told the New York Post the figure will be substantial.

"It's a multi-million dollar loss."

What the case still doesn't answer

Several questions remain open. The lawsuit does not identify the specific court where it was filed, and no case number has been made public. No independent engineering or safety analysis of the cracked helmet has been referenced in public filings. Zenchenko's long-term medical prognosis, whether his memory, coordination, and cognitive function might improve, is not addressed in the available record.

It is also unclear what league or division the USA Hockey-sanctioned game belonged to, or whether any other players have reported failures with the same helmet model. Bauer Hockey is one of the largest hockey equipment manufacturers in the world, and the Re-Akt line is marketed for competitive use.

A man bought a helmet from a store that recommended it for the ice. He wore it in a sanctioned game. It cracked open. Now he can't work, can't play, and can't live the life he had three months after buying the product. If a piece of safety equipment fails that completely, someone owes an answer, and the Zenchenkos are asking a court to find out who.