Football Injury Compensation Claims

There is always a risk of injury when playing football. That’s the case from grassroots football up to the professional leagues. However, some footballing injuries are avoidable such as those caused by violence, reckless play, or dangerous facilities. If you’ve been injured in a football incident caused by someone else’s negligence, you might be entitled to compensation. Our guide about football injury compensation claims will review your options and explain the types of incidents that could allow you to claim.

If at any point you’d like us to review your chances of being compensated, you can call for a no-obligation consultation. During the call, you’ll be offered free legal advice and a specially trained advisor will answer your questions. Where it looks like you have a strong enough case, we’ll ask one of our personal injury solicitors to talk to you. If they agree to help, you’ll receive representation on a No Win, No Fee basis.

To learn more about football injury claims, please continue reading. Alternatively, you can call us on 0800 652 1345 at any time for free advice.

Types of football injuries you could claim compensation for

There are a multitude of injuries that could be sustained when playing football. Some of the more common that can lead to personal injury claims include:

• Torn Achilles tendon.
• Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries.
• Head injuries.
• Broken or fractured bones (legs, ribs, jaws etc).
• Pulled hamstrings.
• Soft tissue injuries including sprains, strains and tears.
• Severe cuts and bruises.

Let’s now look at when you could claim compensation for such injuries.

Can I claim compensation for a football injury?

As a contact sport, there is always a risk of injury during a football match. It can, as such, be quite tricky to determine whether your footballing injury entitles you to compensation. However, for a personal injury lawyer to take on your case, they’ll usually check whether:

• The defendant in your claim owed you a legal duty of care; and
• As a result of negligence, an accident happened on the football pitch or within the facility; and
• You were injured during that accident.

Duty of care during a game of football might not be immediately obvious but generally, the operator of the pitch and ground will owe all players, visitors and spectators a duty of care to provide safe facilities. Alternatively, our solicitors could also help you to claim against your own team’s insurance policy (or the opposition’s) which you might pay into through your monthly subs.

If it’s unclear who you should claim against, please speak to our team as this is something we’ll check as part of your free initial consultation.

Common causes of football injury claims

As part of any contact sport, there is always a chance of picking up a knock during a fair tackle. This sort of incident wouldn’t normally lead to a football injury claim. However, in some circumstances, you could claim for a football-related injury. They include:

• Violent, reckless and dangerous incidents involving other players.
  Most clubs have a policy that players must sign to say that they’ll act within the laws of the game. There may also be a similar policy to sign if the club is affiliated with the Football Association (FA). As a result, if you are injured during a game because of a reckless or violent challenge, you may have grounds to claim against the other club for your injuries.
• Dangerous playing facilities.
  The club responsible for the pitch has a duty of care to make sure it is safe to play on. For outdoor football pitches, that means the playing surface should be free of chemicals that might cause burns or debris like broken glass that could lead to cuts. For astroturf pitches, the surface should be flat and without tears which can become trip hazards. When playing 5-a-side football in a sports hall, the surface should be clear of any spillages or leaks which could lead to slips, trips and falls.
• Inadequate coaching.
  If you have suffered an injury because of poor coaching or dangerous training exercises, you could be entitled to claim for your injuries. In grassroots football, some age groups may have safety rules such as not heading the ball. If your child’s club does not adhere to those rules and your child is injured, a claim might be possible for any subsequent injuries.
• Assaults.
  Unfortunately, players and spectators at football matches do sometimes turn violent and attack other players or even the referee. In these cases, a personal injury claim might not be the right route but you could still be entitled to make a criminal injury claim.

How much compensation for a football injury can I claim?

You should think carefully about how your football injuries have affected you before filing your claim. As well as any physical damage, you should think about other forms of suffering such as psychiatric trauma or expenses linked to your injuries.

Depending on the nature of your injury, a football injury compensation claim could cover:

• Physical pain, suffering and discomfort.
• Loss of enjoyment of your usual hobbies whilst injured including playing football.
• Distress, depression and other types of psychiatric trauma.
• Earnings lost while injured.
• Medical costs such as private physiotherapy.
• Travel expenses i.e. fuel and parking costs for medical appointments.
• The time someone else spent caring for you when you were recovering.
• Future lost income if a more serious injury affects your ability to earn in the long term.
• Mobility devices and home adaptations to help if you’re learning to cope with a long-term disability.

Your solicitor will help you work out what compensation you could be entitled to following a football injury. This is important as, once you’ve settled the claim, you can’t request any more compensation later on. Please call 0800 652 1345 if you’d like us to look into what you could be compensated for.

Providing proof for football injury compensation claims

When making a football injury compensation claim, the defendant in the case will more than likely pass everything on to their insurance provider. As a result, you’ll need to present strong proof to show why you should be compensated before they’ll award a penny.

In football injury claims, the following proof could all prove useful:

• Video footage. If anyone was filming the game on their phone or a video camera, you should ask for a copy if the incident in which you were injured was captured.
• Medical information. To help prove how serious your injury was, your solicitor will request copies of your medical records from the hospital or doctor’s surgery that treated you.
• Witness information. There are likely to be quite a few people who will have witnessed a footballing injury. Try to get their contact details and with their permission forward them on to your solicitor in case they need statements to help prove what happened.
• Photographic evidence. If your injury was caused by an unsafe football pitch, damaged equipment or unsafe facilities, try to take photographs before the cause of your accident is removed or repaired.
• Accident reports. You should always report any injuries to the facility operator as they will be required to log the details in an accident report form. Your solicitor could ask for a copy to help prove the location, time and date of your accident.

If you have any type of proof to support your claim already, please let us know when you contact us.

No Win, No Fee claims

Any type of sports injury compensation claim can involve complex discussions and negotiations regarding liability. We believe, therefore, that if you’re making a football injury claim, it’s a good idea to take on specialist legal representation. The good news is that if a solicitor from our panel agrees to represent you, they will work on a No Win, No Fee basis.

Your solicitor will send you a contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) if they agree to take you on a as client. Once you’ve signed it, your solicitor’s main goals will be to:

• Start working on the football injury claim right away.
• Contact the defendant to let them know that you will be claiming.
• Deal with any communication to shield you from difficult questions.
• Try to counter any arguments raised by the defendant and fight your corner.
• Aim to secure the highest possible compensation possible.

Our No Win, No Fee service means that you won’t be asked to pay anything upfront and there won’t be legal fees to pay if the claim fails. If compensation is awarded, you’ll pay a success fee (a deduction of up to 25 per cent of any settlement amount) to cover your solicitor’s time and costs. Full details of your success fee will be included in your CFA before it’s signed.

Football injury claim time limits

It is important that you begin any personal injury claim within the 3-year time limit. Failure to do so could result in any football injury compensation claim becoming statute-barred and meaning you’d miss out on any compensation you’re entitled to.

The time limit will generally start on the date you were injured playing football. However, if you are making a claim on behalf of your child, the time limit won’t begin until they become an adult. As such, you can start a claim at any time before their 18^th birthday.

Of course, the sooner you begin the claims process, the sooner you’ll receive compensation if the case is won. Also, starting early should make it much easier to secure the proof needed to prove what happened.

Start a football injury compensation claim today

If you’ve read this article and now think you should be compensated for a football injury, call 0800 652 1345 for a free review of your claim. A specialist advisor will assess your chances of being compensated, offer legal advice and answer any questions you might have.

If it looks like you have the grounds to proceed and one of our personal injury solicitors agrees to help, they’ll work on a No Win, No Fee basis. As you’ll know you won’t pay legal fees unless compensation is awarded, you should find everything a little less stressful.

Please use the live chat to if you have any further questions on a football injury compensation claim, or you can arrange your free consultation here.