If you play sports, whether it’s something gentle or a full on contact sport such as rugby, boxing or football, you are consenting to the injuries that happen in the normal course of play. This is an important distinction – sports men and women all know they will get injuries as part of their sport and accept it as normal. However, if someone in a game acts intentionally reckless and causes you to be injured, then you can make a personal injury compensation claim.
Footballers and Sports Injuries
A very common injury among footballers is a broken metatarsal bone. There are five of these bones in a foot. Getting the foot kicked or a sudden impact can easily break one of them. In recent years football boots have become lighter and more flexible, but they actually give less protection to the feet. Some believe this is why there have been so many fractured feet in the football world. Such names as David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, and many other household names have suffered this injury. If they asked us ‘what sports injuries am I not able to claim for’, we would have to say this one– you sustained it as part of your sport.
Cyclists and Road Rash
If a cyclist comes off his cycle whilst racing and slides along the road, he is very likely to get road rash. This is where the skin gets grazed. It is very common for their arms and legs to be affected, as they have no protection covering them. Although not serious, it is a very painful injury and can take a while to heal. If they asked us ‘what sports injuries am I not able to claim for’, we would have to say this one- you sustained it as part of your sport.
The List Goes On
Here are two more examples that we would say fall under the category of ‘what sports injuries am I not able to claim for’. The list of sports injuries that you could not make a personal injury claim for is endless, like the skier who breaks a leg on the slopes, the F1 driver who crashes and is injured, or the horse rider who falls from their horse and is hurt. They are all injuries that are part of the sport. If you really do not accept that these will happen from time to time, and that they could happen to you, you should not be playing the sport.
What You can Claim For
You can claim for any injury that was intentional or caused through reckless behavior, not your own of course, someone else behavior. An illegal tackle or brake failure on a cycle are the sorts of things that you can claim for, and this is the time you should be considering getting advice from a law firm such as Accident Advice Helpline. If you are unsure whether you can claim for your injury, then why not get in touch with one of their friendly advisers. It’s completely free to find out whether you may be able to make a sports injuries claim, so what have you got to lose.