When you suffer injury during sports you may be entitled to compensation. Injury during sports and games is indeed a very special category. In sports and games situations there is a higher threshold for determining liability. In a situation like this, after all, there is increased awareness of the injury risk as a result of the nature of the sport. In soccer for example it is not uncommon for players to suffer kicking injury. People accept the risk of getting injured. This is very different outside the playing field.

Only in the case of a “gross offence” will injury suffered in sports result in damage compensation. Gross offence may only be invoked if the action leading up to the damage was in breach of the rules of the game. Consider for instance the referee sounding his whistle to announce the end of a soccer game. When an opponent subsequently kicks you and/or trips you up the situation is completely different. The sports situation namely was over by that time. The victim, namely the soccer player who was kicked, should or could never have expected this behaviour.

When determining liability in a sports and games situation, merely breaking a game rule is not sufficient to determine liability. There are other factors involved, like intent and whether it concerned a sports and games situation in the first place. When liability is obscure an authority may be called in to give its view.

A special category in sports and games situations is physical education at schools. When a pupil for instance breaks a leg in the gym, he may hold both the school and the person who caused the injury liable.

Liability in sports and games situations is hard to determine. A specialised injury lawyer may make the difference in cases like these. Elfi Letselschade Advocaat will be pleased to counsel you.