Sports Injury Liabilities
Across the nation, millions of athletes are injured during sporting events, practices and competitions. While professional athletes are often under contracts which state that they know there is a chance of injury and get top-of-the-line medical care, children and teenagers need to be protected by coaches, parents and instructors, as they don’t receive the benefits that these professionals do. So, when it comes to an accident and injury during an amateur sporting event, who is liable for the injuries?
The Statistics
Every year, more than 3.5 million children and young teenagers aged 14 and younger have to receive medical treatment for sport related injuries. With 30 million children participating in organized sports annually, it’s no surprise that this number is so high. The real surprise, however comes when you realize that 62 percent of these injuries happen during practices, with 38 percent of accident and injury cases occurring during an actual game. What does this say about these injury cases?
Well, it has been determined by the Safe Kids Worldwide and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that 33 percent of parents don’t even bother to take the same safety precautions with their children that they would generally take during games for practices. Coaches and parents often don’t think about how dangerous practice can really be, which leads to an increase in accident and injury cases.
Collision Sports such as football and rugby have higher accident and injury rates. However, individual sports such as gymnastics and swimming result in more severe injuries.
Determining Fault
In order to receive any sort of compensation for your child’s sport injuries, you must first determine who was at fault. It may be best to google “personal injury attorney Utah”, or simply contact an accident and injury lawyer at Robert J. DeBry and Associates to investigate the accident scene.
Anything that constitutes a minor injury may be covered by your insurance company; however, you may have to consult with an accident and injury lawyer for anything more severe. It’s worth noting that the insurance companies aren’t always going to be on your side, and they may low-ball you to protect themselves financially, hence the importance of an accident and injury lawyer. This attorney will fight for you in court if a coach’s negligence or teammates recklessness has caused the injury. Generally, liability will be decided based on what the primary cause of the accident was and who initiated the accident and injury. In this case, witnesses are crucial to the victim’s case integrity.
When it comes to sport liability claims, it can get tricky. If your child was injured due to someone else’s negligence, contact an accident and injury lawyer at Robert J. DeBry and Associates. We can get you the compensation that you deserve for your injuries and medical bills.
Sources:
https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/sports-related-injuries-and-legal-liability-38828
https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/personal-injury/liability-amateur-sports.html