Sporting Injury? Can You Claim Compensation?
As you may know, business owners and local authorities have a duty of care to protect people whenever they set foot on their land or enter their premises. If this person were to pick up an injury due to neglect or even an oversight, then they would be liable to claim compensation, usually through an insurance program. In this case, the individual in question may have been conducting some business or had a good reason to be there and as such, should have been cared for more effectively. However, does this level of protection exist for those who are taking part in a voluntary activity such as a sport? If you've been injured in this situation, can you claim any compensation?
It's Not All Risk
You may imagine that you need to assume an element of risk whenever you participate in a sport, especially the more challenging activities like car racing or rugby. In short, there is a risk that you may get hurt if something were to go wrong. Nevertheless, organisations or individuals who provide these facilities have to make sure that you are protected to a degree and cannot be ignorant about the risk. In this case, government authorities or central regulators often lay down guidelines that are intended to make each sport as safe as possible and to help protect participants from injury, or worse.
Proving Your Position
Common sense would dictate, however, that you are taking part at your own risk and are not being coerced, so if you're injured, a lot will depend on the individual circumstances of the incident. You may be able to lodge a claim for compensation but will have to accept a burden of proof.
Third-Party Analysis
In this situation, an independent entity will look at all the circumstances. They will consider whether another player in a contact sport was clearly outside the rules, and if so, they may be liable because they were acting without due care. Reference will be made to the rules of this game to establish whether anyone was at fault and the defendant may not be able to argue that you were assuming a voluntary risk, as there was a flagrant breach of the rules.
Pressing a Claim
If an individual or an organiser is found to be negligent, then you may be able to make a claim against them or their insurance carrier in a court of law. You may build a claim for loss of earnings, medical treatment or emotional injury, but this may be a difficult case to prove. Consequently, you should engage a personal injury lawyer to establish your case.
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