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Playing any support can be extremely exciting and rewarding, especially if you are a professional athlete. Although playing sports comes with its various set of perks, it also comes with its risks. Certain sports are considered riskier than others when it comes to potential injuries. When you are active on a regular basis in training and exercising for games or competitions, you can be putting yourself at risk of getting injured, and some injuries can be more severe than others. One of the most popular questions athletes often ask is if they can hold someone liable for their sports injuries.
Here is how you can determine the answer to that question and how to go about proving injury liability.
How Were You Injured?
In order to figure out if someone could be liable for your sports injury, you must first ask yourself, how did the injury occur in the first place? If you find that you were injured as a result of someone else’s fault, like another player or even the referee, then they are certainly liable for your injury. Even if the person who caused your injury on the field or pitch did not intend to cause you any harm yet somehow managed to do so, they will still be found liable for your injuries. However, if the injury was not anybody’s fault and you simply hurt yourself while playing your favorite sport, then you may be the one liable for your own injury.
Where Were You Injured?
Many athletes get injured while playing sports or training in different places. Depending on where you were training at the time of your injury, the entity or organization that owns the place where you were getting active may be liable for your injuries. The trauma resulting from personal injury could all be the fault of the place where you were playing your favorite sport before you got injured. It can be a result of faulty equipment on the field or issues with the pitch or sports court where you were practicing. However, if you were practicing on your own property, then you may be liable for the injuries yourself unless there is something wrong with the foundation of the property that is caused by the construction company that built the structure.
Assumption of Risk
Before you start playing any sport, it is important that you understand the risks you are exposing yourself to. Your coach or the person of authority responsible for your professional contract as an athlete should be able to explain in detail the assumption of risk to you before you start playing so that you are aware of what you’re getting yourself into. If you get injured playing without being aware of the risks in advance, then the coach or club manager- and in turn, the place you are playing for- would be liable for your injuries.
Written Releases of Liability
Before you start playing any sport, even if you are not a professional athlete, some club managers and coaches ask players to sign written releases of liability that remove any liability off the club in case the player gets injured while playing on the club premises. In some cases, those written releases can be invoked if the player gets badly injured because of something that was not their own fault, but clearly that of the club or other players. In such cases, legal action may be taken to invoke the written release and get you your full rights as a victim.
Establishing Liability
If you get injured while playing a sport and you’re sure someone else is liable for the injury, then you will need to be able to establish that liability to get your full rights. In order to do that, you will need to gather any proof you can get from the time you were injured. Things like medical reports and witness statements can come in handy in such cases. If you can get other professional players to testify about what they saw when you got injured or even a coach, then that would make your case even stronger and help you get compensation. In such cases, it is always a good idea to hire an experienced lawyer to be by your side and help you establish the liability without hassle.
Getting injured while playing your favorite sport is never easy on any athlete or even those who like playing sports as a hobby. The one thing that can make all the pain easier on you as you try and recover is to try and get compensated for your injuries if they were not your fault. Make sure you hire an experienced lawyer to help you get your full rights and establish liability and ensure you focus on your health before anything else.
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