How to File a Sports Injury Claim
If you or someone you love is injured in a sports-related accident, there may be legal options available for you, even if you have signed a waiver. In this video, Preszler Law personal injury lawyer John Philp appears on The Morning Show to discuss what you should know about sports injury claims. For more information or to see how our lawyers might be able to help you, call us today at 1-800-JUSTICE for a free initial consultation.
LIZA: Thank you, Rose. With summer upon us, you might be planning to take part in a number of outdoor activities to mark the season. Your calendar or a calendar of events might include rock climbing, ziplining, or water skiing, and maybe you’re part of a sports or an organized walk or run - well, whatever your itinerary, this summer it’s important to know what you can do on and off the courts if you get hurt. And here to talk about that is John Philp from Preszler Law. Good morning.
JOHN: Good morning to you.
LIZA: So this has more to do about not where you’re playing the sport, but what sport you’re playing.
JOHN: Well that’s exactly it, and if you’re injured in a sport, it really depends on the type of sport you’re playing. I - you know, there’s what’s called implied consent, so if you’re playing badminton versus hockey, there’s an expectation in hockey that there could be some violence, there some, you know, maybe a little bit of a scuffle, or a fight on the ice, versus, you know, something like badminton, where, you know, you don’t expect something like that.
LIZA: So in other words, if, like, if I’m playing hockey and someone punches me in the face and I lose a tooth, tough luck?
JOHN: Well, essentially. Because there’s an expectation in hockey that there’s going to be a little bit of a scuffle, but, you know, for example, there was a case a few years ago where a fight broke out on the ice, and one gentleman punched the other guy, and in retaliation, the guy who got punched took his stick and popped him over the head, and the gentleman who was hit in the head turned around and sued this guy. And the court found that the actions of the gentleman who hit the person on the head went beyond the normal expectation, beyond this implied consent that you would normally have in a game of hockey.
LIZA: Okay, so regardless of whether you’ve signed anything or anything like that -
JOHN: Well, you know, in most sports nowadays, be it hockey or be it, you know, if you’re going for one of these rides down the DVP for charity, you’re expected to sign what’s called a waiver. Now a waiver is essentially you signing away your right to sue someone if you’re injured in that activity.
LIZA: Mm-hmm.
JOHN: Now waivers sometimes can be enforced, but a lot of the times you can get around a waiver if you’re injured in a sport. I’ll give you an example: a few years back, there was one of these ride for the hearts down the DVP, and one of the riders was getting into the draft of a line of bicycles, and suddenly one of these bicycles just made an unexpected movement into this person’s path and this person was seriously injured as a result, and that person sued the person who made that unexpected movement. Now, this person had signed a waiver -
LIZA: Right.
JOHN: - and there was an expectation that if you sign that waiver, you can’t sue anyone who -
LIZA: Right.
JOHN: Is, is in this race. Well, the court found that because the waiver was not clear, because, uh, it was not drafted properly, that it was not applicable in those circumstances.
LIZA: All right well thank you so much, John Philp from Preszler Law, and if you have any questions about personal injury for John and his team at Preszler, visit our Facebook page at facebook.com slash morning show TO. We’re gonna take a break, we’ll be right back.