PHOENIX - Grant Smith, director of the UA Recreation Center, said during an interview Monday that he was in "total disbelief" when he heard the ruling last week in the $5 million lawsuit against the university.

In Spiegler vs. State of Arizona, a 10-person jury found the Rec Center and its student employees negligent in caring for Stacey Spiegler, who was a 20-year-old University of Arizona senior when she had a heart attack in 1990 while riding a stationary bicycle. Jurors concluded that Rec Center employees' failure to administer CPR contributed to Spiegler's brain damage, which was caused by a lack of oxygen.

Smith said everyone involved in the case, from attorneys to the Arizona Board of Regents, told him that this was an "open and shut" case. The UA would have settled out of court rather than taken it to trial if they had though otherwise, he said.

"From my standpoint, I know beyond a shadow of doubt those students did everything right. If she had fallen down in the street there would be no lawsuit," he said.

Yet 10 jurors listened to evidence for three weeks and found the university to be 100 percent at fault.

How does Smith explain this?

"I think they (the jury) felt sorry for Stacey," he said. "She was a neat young woman. She still is and she will never be able to work ... it seems she will never be able to live independently.

And they felt, like a lot of people do, 'well, it's the state of Arizona, they've go lots of money, they've got insurance ... let's take care of this young woman.'"

Smith said part of the tragedy is that the students who cared for Spiegler at the Rec Center that day are now being labeled as the people who caused her brain damage. He said he has contacted three of those seven students to let them know the university supports them.

Smith said there is no way to avoid injuries in the recreation business, no matter what precautions are taken. He said he hopes the case and other like it do not cause universities to eliminate programs, such as the UA's Outdoor Adventures Program, because they are afraid of being sued.

"Realistically, if you were going to have to worry about this kind of thing you would just chain the (Rec Center) doors closed."

Murray DeArmond, director of Student Health and Wellness Services, which oversees the Rec Center, said the judgment should not affect any programs the center offers.

He said his staff would review their emergency procedures with attorneys and members of risk management to determine whether any steps need to be added or altered.

Jeff Gilbert, claims adjuster with the State Department of Risk Management, said the department, which handles all personal injury cases for the state, is looking at all options, including a possible appeal of the ruling.