Sports injury accidents

In recent years there has been a surge in the popularity of more extreme sports such as climbing, abseiling, diving, kayaking, bungee jumping and jet skiing. With these sports, the participant is usually completely reliant upon the equipment being used to ensure their own safety, and sometimes injuries are suffered because the equipment is faulty or has not been properly set up. If the sport is part of an organised activity then it will often not be possible for the participant to check the safety of the equipment being used. The specialist nature of the sport is also likely to mean that the average person would not know how to carry out the safety checks required.

Extreme sports can now be experienced by those with no previous experience, meaning the initial safety briefing is the only opportunity the participant will have to be made aware of the potential risks of the sport involved. Whilst some injures are undoubtedly an acceptable risk of engaging in often challenging physical activities with a number of other people, some people are unfortunate enough to suffer injuries that cannot just be put down to the rough and tumble of the particular sporting activity.

It is therefore entirely fair that the climber who falls due to inadequate equipment or the jet skier that crashes because they have not been properly trained to ride a jet ski is entitled to compensation for their injury and other losses resulting from the accident.

Similar principles apply to organised adventure and leisure activities, from go karting and paintballing to fairground attractions and theme park roller coasters. The participant may have little or no aptitude or training and will be reliant on the organisers to train or instruct him properly and to provide the correct equipment in good order.

Our team of sports injury lawyers will fight to get you the compensation you are entitled to at no cost to you. We are experienced at doing this as quickly and efficiently as possible, allowing you to concentrate on recovering from your accident during what can be a very stressful time.

At Osbornes Solicitors LLP we specialise in sports injury claims. We represent people who sustain avoidable injury in sporting accidents, from professional sportsmen and women to 5 a side footballers and weekend horseriders. So if you were injured in a horror tackle in a rugby match, by a malfunctioning gym machine or by a pot holed soccer pitch you might want to get some legal advice.

These cases are not straightforward. To succeed, it is necessary to prove negligence. This may be the negligence of another player (although if the case involves a bad tackle it usually needs to be reckless and dangerous as well), the negligence of a trainer or instructor or that of the individual or organisation responsible for planning or supervising the event. Proof is necessary in the form of evidence, so we will need to discuss the circumstances of the accident with you in some detail to work out whether witnesses or documents will establish the case in negligence.

Click on the following links for further details:

• Cycling injury claims
• Football injury claims
• Gym injury claims
• Rugby injury claims
• Skiing injury claims
• Adventure & extreme sports injury claims

Sports Injury Compensation Claim Value

The value of any sports injury claim will depend on the seriousness of the sports injury and its effect on your everyday life. So the Premier League footballer who retires from the game at age 21 may have a multi-million pound claim whereas the broken finger that keeps the fitness addict out of the gym for two months may only be worth two or three thousand pounds. Our job is to obtain the evidence to maximise the sports injury claim in the minimum time frame.