Attending a sporting event can be an exciting way to spend time with family and friends. Whether you are watching junior hockey, a local baseball game, or high school football, most spectators expect a fun and safe environment. However, injuries do sometimes occur at sporting events – even for spectators simply watching from the stands.
When a spectator is injured at a sporting event, an important legal question arises: who is responsible for a spectator injury in Ontario?
In Ontario, liability for spectator injuries is often analyzed through:
- duty of care
- negligence
- Occupiers’ Liability Act in Ontario
What is The Duty of Care Owed to Spectators?
In Ontario, property owners and event organizers generally owe a duty of care to people attending events on their premises. This means they must take reasonable steps to ensure that spectators are safe while attending the event.
This duty is reflected in the Occupiers’ Liability Act (OLA) in Ontario, which requires occupiers of property to ensure that people entering the premises are reasonably safe.
An “occupier” may include:
- arena operators
- municipalities operating sports fields
- private property owners hosting events
- organizations responsible for managing the venue
The law does not require perfect safety, but it does require precautions to prevent foreseeable injuries to spectators.
Examples of Spectator Injuries That Organizers are Responsible For
1. Hockey Games and Flying Pucks
Imagine attending an OHL hockey game and sitting close to the glass behind the bench. Hockey pucks can travel at extremely high speeds and frequently leave the ice surface.
Most arenas install protective netting behind the goals and glass around the rink to reduce this risk. However, there are still situations where a puck may reach the stands.
In these situations, courts may consider whether the arena operator took reasonable safety measures or not. Some items that may be considered include:
- Installation of proper protective barriers
- Esurance that seating areas are designed appropriately.
In most hockey arenas, spectators are considered to have accepted certain inherent risks of attending live sporting events. This includes that a puck may leave the ice surface.
If safety measures are missing, poorly maintained, or improperly installed, liability for a spectator could arise.
2. Baseball Games and Foul Ball Injuries in Public Parks
Watching a local baseball game in the summer a public park . (ex. In Kingston Ontario – Woodbine Park), cheering on your team from the foul line or from behind the backstop can be quite the thrill. However, a foul ball can easily enter spectator areas like this, especially if protective fencing is limited or people choose to sit in unprotected spaces.
While foul balls are a known risk of baseball, the property owner or organizer may still have a duty to ensure:
- proper fencing or backstops are installed
- seating areas are reasonably safe
- spectators are not placed in unnecessarily dangerous locations
Again, the key legal question becomes whether reasonable safety precautions were taken to prevent spectator injuries.
3. Sideline Injuries at High School Football Games
High school football is always a well attended event, filled with classmates, family members and communities showing their spirit for the teams.
These Spectators often sit or stand along the sidelines rather than in designated bleacher areas. Football is a fast-paced contact sport, and players are frequently run or hit out of bounds during the game.
If spectators are positioned too close to the field, they may be struck by players running at full speed.
Organizers are responsible to ensure that there are:
- designated spectator areas
- barriers or marked sidelines
- warnings about where spectators should sit or stand
Failure to properly manage spectator areas could potentially raise issues under both the OLA and the Negligence Act. This governs how fault and damages may be allocated when multiple parties contribute to an injury.
Structural Safety at Sporting Venues
Spectator injuries are not always caused by game play. Sometimes they result from unsafe structures or poorly maintained sports facilities.
One notable international example occurred in 1989 at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England. This incident occurred during a soccer game, better known as the Hillsborough disaster. As thousands of soccer fans surged into crowded stands, many individuals were crushed and suffocated. Bodies were pressed against a steel fence at the front of the stands. 97 people were killed and hundreds were injured.
While that incident involved police, stadium officials and spectators, it highlights the importance of structural safety and proper management of attendees in large venues. When stadium seating, railings, lighting structures, or temporary installations fail, serious injuries can occur.
In Ontario, occupiers must ensure that structures on their property are properly maintained and inspected. If a collapse occurs due to poor maintenance, defective design, or unsafe construction practices, the occupier could potentially be found negligent. The same goes for the safety procedures that venue occupiers must enforce and follow, to ensure tragedy doesn’t strike, and the safety of all spectators is maintained.
When the Negligence Act May Apply
The Negligence Act in Ontario becomes important when determining how responsibility should be shared among different parties.
For example:
- A venue operator may have failed to install protective barriers
- An event organizer may have improperly managed crowd placement
- A spectator may have ignored posted safety warnings
Under the Negligence Act, courts can divide responsibility among the parties based on their degree of fault.
This means that even if a spectator contributed to their own injury, they may still recover compensation if another party was partly responsible for the accident.
Understanding Your Legal Options in Ontario After a Spectator Injury
Sporting events are meant to be enjoyable community experiences. While some risks are inherent to live sports, venue operators and event organizers must still take reasonable steps to ensure spectator safety.
Understanding the legal responsibilities of occupiers, and the role of negligence in these situations is important when determining whether for a spectator injury may be available in Ontario.
If you or a loved one has been injured while attending a sporting event in Ontario, speaking with an experienced personal injury lawyer can help you understand your options and whether compensation may be available.
