Sport has a place in many people’s lives, whether this is through direct participation or simply watching it on the television in the comfort of your home. In fact, for some people sport is everything. It is what they live for. For such people, and indeed others, playing sport is an important part of their daily routine. However, as I am sure many of you are aware, playing sport can lead to injury. Fortunately, many injuries are minor and are cured on the spot with a little help from the ‘magic sponge’. However, other injuries are more serious and can take a matter or months, even years to recover from. If you have suffered a personal injury as a result of your participation in sporting activity you may be able to make a claim for compensation.
When we play sport we know that there is a high likelihood of physical contact between players. We know of that risk and we accept it. For instance, in a game of football, the players are well aware that they may get tackled. Likewise, during a boxing match the boxers are fully aware that they will inevitably be punched. Does that then mean that if we are injured whilst playing sport we cannot make a claim for compensation? No, not at all. It all depends on your injury and how it was sustained. It is therefore important that you seek the advice of a quality personal injury lawyer who can advise you as to whether you may be entitled to compensation.
If you are playing football for example and someone purposely does a horrendous tackle on you and as a result you suffer a broken leg, you may well deserve compensation. This is because they have been reckless and this was not what you signed up for when you said you would take part in the football match. Sure, you might get a mistimed tackle, but you certainly did not permit someone to deliberately break your leg. This action was well beyond what you would anticipate and so a claim for compensation can follow.
The law states that every contestant in a sporting event owes their fellow players a duty of care to avoid causing injury to another participant. Naturally, this threshold differs depending on the sport. Whereas a boxer may punch his opponent, a rugby player is not similarly allowed to punch an opposing player. Whereas a footballer may commit a marginally late foul, they are not permitted to ‘do a Roy Keane’ and intentionally commit a high and late foul that seriously injures their opponent. This is simply not consistent with the spirit of the game. In these cases a claim for compensation may be made.
If you have been the victim of a sporting injury not consistent with the manner in which the game is played, contact The Injury Lawyers for free and friendly legal advice.
