Sports Injury Lawyer
Sports are a popular pastime for many Canadians. They are also a great career choice for those passionate about a particular game. While designed to be a fun and safe activity, sports injuries are not uncommon. These incidents are often preventable, but once they happen, it is impossible to turn back the clock on the injuries a player might sustain.
If you’re injured in a sports accident, it’s possible to recover fair compensation that can help to pay your medical bills and potentially replace your lost income. Additionally, children who suffer from a sports injury may face growth problems and ongoing concerns regarding their development. It may be in your best interest to speak with a sports injury lawyer to determine whether the circumstances of your or a loved one’s injury warrants legal action.
How to Determine Liability for a Sports Injury
When you agree to participate in any kind of sport, you’re also assuming the risk that you could be injured. Many athletes believe that when they get hurt, it’s simply a part of the game. They may not recognize that someone else could be liable for what happened to them. Liability for a sports injury may fall on the following parties.
Equipment Manufacturers
Sports equipment needs to meet stringent quality control standards. Companies that produce sports equipment routinely test their products to ensure they are safe, but sometimes a piece of equipment could be defective. When playing a contact sport with faulty equipment, you may be more severely injured than if the equipment worked properly. In some instances, the defect could be why you’ve been injured.
Coaching Staff
Your coaches are entrusted to teach you the proper techniques of any sport and to guide you as you train to compete. They’re instrumental in ensuring that you have the right gear to perform, and follow a dedicated training program to help you reach pinnacle condition. Coaches may make choices for you that aren’t in your best interest and could be held liable if you’re injured due to their decisions.
Other Players
The intention of other players on the field can go a long way toward proving potential negligence. If it’s evident that another player went out of their way to hit you, trip you or cause harm to remove you from the game, you could hold them accountable for their reckless actions.
Practice and Game Facilities
You have the right to practice and perform at safe venues. It’s up to the owners of sports facilities to repair any ground damage that could cause sports injuries. A common example is when the field is poorly maintained, and athletes suffer injuries because they run over uneven patches of grass that could have been filled in before a game.
What to Know About Waivers and Release Forms
Many sports organizations require athletes to sign waivers or release forms that can make it difficult for them to be held liable for any injuries on their property or through their programs. Even if you signed one of these forms, they can’t legally exclude negligence, which means you can still bring forth a lawsuit if you can prove that someone breached their reasonable duty of care before you got hurt.
How a Sports Injury Can End a Career
If you earn a living by playing sports, a single injury can end your season or keep you from ever returning to the game you love again. Knee injuries, serious bone breaks and repeated head injuries, like concussions, may force you to leave the sport and cause you to sacrifice your potential future income. In some cases, the surgery you have to undergo to repair your ligaments and bones can put you at greater risk of reinjuring the same part of your body.
Many athletes leave their careers because they can’t ever return to their previous physical condition following an injury.
How Bergeron Clifford Can Help
Our sports injury lawyers have a proven track record of recovering fair compensation for clients since 1999. You may be entitled to money for medical bills, lost income and pain and suffering if your injury was due to someone else’s negligence. Reach out to us to arrange a free consultation and discuss your options.
Contact Bergeron | Clifford LLP
Contact us at 866-384-5886 or fill out our online form if you have had a concussion or other head injury in Eastern Ontario. We can meet you at our office locations in Kingston, Ottawa, Whitby, Carleton Place, Perth or other local offices, or wherever is most convenient for you.
