Have you or your child been seriously injured in a sports accident? Every year, millions of children and adults suffer serious injuries during recreation and athletics, including at gyms, playing in a league, or during school sports. If your injury was the result of dangerous property conditions, inadequate supervision, or other forms of negligence, you may be entitled to hold the property owner or a school district accountable.
Goidel & Siegel Injury Lawyers represents accident victims and families in seeking fair compensation for sports accidents caused by defective products and negligent property owners.
Sports-related injuries are sometimes minor, but sports accidents can also lead to devastating and even catastrophic injuries. Goidel & Siegel represents adults and children who have suffered sports injuries including:
Contact sports are a leading cause of traumatic brain injuries in the United States. However, all types of sports can cause injury such as golfers’ or tennis elbow and runner’s knee.
As a general rule, voluntary participation in sports means you are assuming the inherent risks. This assumption of risk doctrine is an important exception to the duty of care you are owed when you participate in a risky activity like sports.
However, assumption of risk isn’t absolute. This doctrine only applies to injuries that are foreseeable and an inherent risk of the activity. This means that while you generally do not have a claim against anyone for a shoulder injury you suffered playing baseball or a head injury suffered during football, you may have a claim if your injury is the result of someone else’s intentional or reckless behavior.
Assumption of risk also does not apply to sports injuries that are caused by defective sports equipment or defects on the property. These types of cases may entitle you to compensation through a product liability claim against the manufacturer or a premises liability case against the property owner.
About one-third of all childhood injuries happen during sports. More than 3.5 million kids 14 and younger are hurt in recreational and sports-related accidents every year. Sports are the leading cause of brain injuries among children.
Children and teens participating in youth leagues and organized sports at school in New York are vulnerable to all types of serious sports-related injuries. For your child to participate in sports, you must generally sign a consent form or waiver as a parent or guardian. These waivers state that you understand the risks of injury involved in the sport and release the school or organization from liability for injuries that occur during normal play.
Still, this does not absolve schools and youth leagues of liability. New York schools have a high duty of care to the children under their charge. They have a legal responsibility to take steps to protect children from foreseeable hazards and injuries. This includes inspecting for dangerous conditions, defective sports equipment, unsafe playground equipment, slippery flooring in the gym, and more.
Youth leagues and schools may also be held responsible if they allow potentially dangerous conduct outside the rules of the game. This may include allowing the use of excessive force during a game or non-standard conduct.
Schools and leagues also have a duty to ensure adequate supervision and can be liable for injuries that could have been avoided with proper supervision. Coaches and instructors must also use appropriate teaching and coaching methods. They may be liable for failing to remove injured players from the game, encouraging behavior outside the rules, or pushing a child beyond reasonable limits.
A high-school boy suffered cheek and orbital bone injuries on a school-sponsored trip to a rural camp while playing tag at night. We established that there was inadequate supervision.
Check out other settlements on our Case Results page.
Sports-related injuries can be life-changing. If you or your child has been hurt in a sports accident caused by the negligence of a facility, school, or league, Goidel & Siegel is here to help you. We will put more than 30 years of experience to work on your case with extensive trial experience that gives us an edge during negotiations.
Call our law office today to schedule a free consultation with our multilingual New York injury lawyers to discuss your case. We can meet with you at our office, through a virtual consultation, or anywhere you are comfortable.
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