What happens if Your Child is injured at a Sports Facility?

Each year, more than 3.5 million children age 14 and under receive medical treatment for sports related injuries.  As a parent, the thought of your child suffering a sports related injury is likely one of your major fears.  After all, nobody wants to see their child going through physical and emotional pain.  If such an incident occurs in your family, you may wonder if you have any legal recourse against the facility in which the injury occurred.  The answer depends upon if the injury was the result of negligence.

Many sports injuries happen with no negligence involved.  When someone makes the choice to play a sport, it is with the understanding that a possibility of injury always exists.  This is called an assumption of risk.

However, sports injuries that come about as the result of negligent or willful misconduct on the part of facility employees may qualify for a lawsuit.  In such a suit, you could request damages for medical bills and other out-of-pocket expenses related to the injury, pain and suffering, and, if applicable, lost wages.  An example of negligent conduct would be an injury resulting from a child tripping over a ripped piece of Astroturf or a sprinkler head sticking out in the playing field, as long as it can be proven that someone working there was aware of the obstacle and failed to correct the problem.  The markers of negligence include faulty or unsafe sports equipment, inadequate supervision, improperly trained employees, insufficient on-site emergency medical care, and/or poorly-maintained facilities.

If your child has suffered a sports-related injury, it is recommended you contact an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible to review your case.