No Win, No FeePlaying sports can be inherently dangerous. Even non-contact sports can lead to injuries and accidents. When you register to play a sport, you’ll be accepting that many risks are just part of the game. However, where inadequate safety equipment, poor training regimes or unfit playing surfaces (to name a few) cause you to be injured, you could seek compensation for your injuries by filing a sporting injury claim.
Our team of personal injury specialists can help if you are considering claiming compensation for sports injuries. If you’re not sure if you’ve got a valid claim, don’t worry as we offer a no-obligation case review.
During your initial call, we’ll look at what’s happened and offer free legal advice about your chances of making a successful claim. If the case appears to be viable, we’ll connect you with one of our personal injury solicitors. Any case that they take on will be managed on a No Win, No Fee basis.
Please get in touch on 0800 652 1345 to have your claim reviewed right away. Otherwise, please continue reading if you’d like to know more about claiming compensation for sporting injuries.
Can I claim compensation for a sporting injury?
You could be entitled to claim compensation for a sporting injury claim if:
- You were owed a duty of care.
- An accident occurred whilst playing sport because of negligence.
- You were injured because of that negligence.
After your case has been reviewed, a solicitor may offer to represent you if all of the above is true. To help prove your case, you will need evidence to show exactly what happened, who was to blame and how severe your sports injuries were.
Common types of sports activities
Sporting injury claims could be made for suffering caused by negligence in any of the following activities:
- Team sports.
- Motorsports.
- Exercise classes.
- PE lessons at school.
- Circuit training or other gym activities.
- Athletics such as hurdles, pole vaults.
- Weight training.
- Physical training in the military.
- Swimming or diving.
- Winter sports such as ice skating or skiing.
- Outdoor pursuits such as horse riding.
- Water sports such as jet skiing or kitesurfing.
If you have been injured whilst participating in sport or exercise and believe the incident was caused by someone else’s negligence, please get in touch to discuss your options.
What types of sports negligence could I claim compensation for?
It might not always be clear whether you’ve got the grounds to make a sports injury claim. That’s why it’s a good idea to let us review your claim for free. However, to give you some idea of what types of negligence in sports could lead to a claim, here are some examples:
- Poorly maintained facilities or equipment.
- A lack of proper supervision or training where it would usually be needed.
- A dangerous fault on a court, pitch or another sporting facility.
- Irresponsible or reckless tackles by players.
- A failure to stop dangerous play from occurring by referees or coaches.
- Being assaulted by another player.
- Incorrect or unsafe instructions by an instructor or trainer.
Sports injuries from these types of incidents would not be deemed normal risks associated with the sport. As a result, if you are injured because of any of the above, you may be eligible to seek compensation for your suffering.
Common injuries from playing sports
The list of injuries that could be sustained while playing sports is too long to include here. However, some examples of common injuries you could claim for include:
- Sprains & strains.
- Back injuries.
- Broken & fractured bones.
- Ligament & tendon tears.
- Joint dislocations.
- Cuts, bruising or lacerations.
- Concussions & other head injuries.
Again, some injuries from playing sports are just part and parcel of the game. It would only be possible to claim compensation if your injury was caused by some form of negligence. Our personal injury team are ready to help and review your case for free.
Who would I file a sporting injury claim against?
Generally, personal injury claims for incidents relating to sporting injuries will be made against some form of an insurance policy. Some examples of policyholders you could claim compensation against include:
- The club or team you play sports for.
- A sporting venue.
- Your school.
- Your local council.
- A league or association you’re registered with.
- Private gyms.
In some cases, your registration fee for a sporting activity may include some form of insurance premium as well. If your claim is taken on, your solicitor will assess who the claim needs to be made against to ensure it’s filed correctly.
What compensation can I claim for sports injuries?
Legally, you’re well within your rights to ask for compensation if someone else has caused your sports injuries because of their negligence. But what is compensation used to cover? Well, your compensation could be based on:
- The pain and suffering caused by your injuries.
- Private medical care to help you rehabilitate.
- Loss of earnings.
- Care costs.
- Prescription fees.
- Replacing any personal equipment damaged during the incident.
In more serious cases where sporting injuries cause permanent disabilities, you could claim for the cost of adapting your home to make it easier to cope.
If your case is taken on, your solicitor will explain what could be included in your claim once everything has been reviewed.
Can spectators claim for injuries at sporting events?
If a sporting venue allows spectators, they have a duty of care to try and keep them as safe as possible. That means that they must ensure any sports event facilities are as safe as possible. Examples of accidents at sporting events that could lead to a claim include:
- If you tripped and fell in the car park because of loose paving slabs, potholes or missing kerbstones.
- Where you cut yourself on damaged furniture.
- If you slip on a wet floor because of leaks or spillages in the clubhouse or toilets that weren’t cleared up quickly enough.
- If you suffer food poisoning after eating contaminated food purchased at the event.
We can help spectators claim for accidents at sporting events. Similarly, we could help referees or officials claim if they are injured at a sporting event. Please get in touch if you’d like to know more.
How is liability determined in sports injury claims?
To claim compensation for any type of sports injury, you will need to supply solid proof of who is liable. This should make it clear how your accident occurred, who caused it and what injuries you suffered.
To do this, you could use:
- Camera footage. Some sporting venues use security cameras. Also, even at a grassroots level, some sports are recorded for analysis purposes. If the incident in which you were injured was caught on camera, ask for a copy of the footage before it is erased.
- Photographic proof. If your injuries were caused by a defect of some sort, you should take pictures of it. The ideal time to do so is before the defect is repaired or removed.
- Witness statements. Where liability for your sports injuries is denied, witness statements might be important. If needed, your solicitor could contact anyone else who saw you being injured to ask them to confirm what happened.
- Medical proof. Although you might receive first aid at the time you’re injured, it’s a good idea to seek professional treatment. As well as having your injuries diagnosed properly, you could use any medical records from a hospital or GP surgery to prove the severity of your injuries.
- Financial proof. If you incur any costs or expenses because of your sporting injury, you should hold onto any receipts or bank statements in case the costs can be claimed back.
To help show what impact your sporting injuries have had, you could also write a diary whilst recovering. This could list the days you had to receive treatment, any days you couldn’t work and any social events you had to miss.
We will review any proof you have collected for free. If you’d like to check whether you’ve got enough to start a claim, please get in touch today.
How long Do I have to claim sports injury compensation?
In most cases, sporting injury compensation claims must be started within 3-years of when your injuries were sustained. This might seem like a long time but it can soon disappear. If you leave it too long, your claim could be barred which means you won’t be compensated.
Your solicitor will be grateful if you start your sporting injury claim sooner rather than later. That’s because it will give them plenty of time to gather supporting evidence. Another benefit of starting early is that the defendant might agree to pay for private medical treatment before the claim is finalised (if they accept liability).
Claims for children’s sporting injuries don’t have the same time limit. Parents or other adults who are deemed suitable to be a litigation friend are able to claim on behalf of the child if the process is started before the child’s 18th birthday.
To see if you’ve still got time to claim, call us today.
No Win, No Fee sports injury claims
There is no doubt that most people wouldn’t use legal representation to make a claim if their money was at risk. That’s why our personal injury solicitors provide a No Win, No Fee service if they accept a claim.
They can’t offer this service to all claimants though because there’s a risk they won’t be paid if the claim fails. Therefore, before your claim is accepted, a solicitor will check that it has a reasonable chance of success.
If they do agree to represent you, they won’t ask for their fees to be paid upfront. Instead, their work will be funded by a contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This sets out what work is included and what needs to happen before you pay for your solicitor’s work.
Essentially, if you are awarded compensation, your solicitor will deduct a success fee from it. By law, this is capped at 25% of your settlement when using a CFA. To clarify, if the claim fails, you do not have to pay the success fee. As with all contracts, you should read yours carefully so you know what percentage you’ll pay before signing the agreement.
To check if you could use one of our No Win, No Fee solicitors, please call today.
Using personal injury solicitors to make a sporting injury claim
We are ready to help if you’ve been injured playing sports or at a sporting event because of someone else’s negligence. Whether your claim is against a venue, your club or anyone else, we believe your chances of winning compensation could be improved if you use a personal injury solicitor.
If your claim is taken on, we’ll appoint one of our solicitors to work with you. So that they don’t miss anything from your claim, they’ll review what happened and how you’ve suffered with you. They’ll then start to collect evidence to substantiate your allegations.
So that you don’t need to deal with the defendant’s insurers directly, they’ll shield you from any enquiries. If objections regarding liability are raised, your solicitor will fight your corner and attempt to counter them. All the while, they’ll provide regular updates and answer any queries you think of.
There’s nothing to lose by calling our team. Your initial assessment will be provided on a no-obligation basis and you’ll get free legal advice about your options whatever you decide to do next.
To start the ball rolling, why not call our team on 0800 652 1345 today? If one of our solicitors thinks your case could be won, they’ll represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis.
Thank you for reading this guide on sporting injury claims, and please let us know if you require any further information.
