The Olympics are exciting. The games are a show of the best there is in sport. We watch the Olympic games to see the absolute majesty of the athletes that compete at that level. There are risks that Olympic athletes take to win the gold.
Even if athletes are not competing at the Olympic level, sports injuries are still common. When athletes get hurt, who is responsible for paying their medical bills? Injuries mainly result from accidents. When accidents occur, finding the responsible party can be difficult when a player gets injured during after-school practice, at an away game, or when a professional player is hurt in a professional stadium or arena.
Knowing where to start after you are injured is overwhelming. Getting a suitable representation is the first step to having a successful claim when an injury happens. Our team of attorneys has decades of experience working with accident victims and helping our clients receive the compensation they deserve. Our injury firm has recovered over $500 million in damages for clients who have suffered injuries because of carelessness.
Call our office or contact us online to schedule a free consultation if you have been injured.
How Common Are Injuries in the Winter Olympics?
During the Winter Olympics, athletes report various types of injuries. Some of the injuries the competitors suffered were potentially career-ending and life-threatening. These injuries are just examples of how a competitor can hurt themselves during training and at the actual event.
Injuries that athletes have suffered during past Winter Olympics include:
- Torn ACL
- Broken collarbone
- Broken back
- Broken wrist
- Knee injuries
- Broken heels and feet
The statistics show that events requiring high jumps and excessive speed are riskier for athletes and may lead to an increased injury rate.
Are the Summer Gains Safer Than Winter Games for Athletes?
Statistics have shown that summer games tend to be safer for athletes than winter games. The competitions explain the tendency for safer summer games played in the Winter Olympics versus the Summer Olympics.
Winter Olympic Sports
- Slopestyle and cross snowboarding
- Freestyle skiing
- Ice hockey
- Figure skating
- Alpine skiing
- Bobsleighing
- Cross-country skiing
- Short track skiing
- Skeleton
- Curling
- Luge
- Biathlon
- All Nordic sports combined
These games have seen more injuries than the summer games because of the Winter Olympics facts surrounding the winter games. First, the weather brings about its challenges. Strong winds and heavy snow make slip and fall accidents more likely, and the consequences of those fall more severe. Studies have shown that the dangerous events at the Winter Olympics involve high speeds and jumps and make injuries more likely to occur and have more devastating consequences than the Summer Olympics.
Injuries at Summer Olympics
Unlike the phenomenon present with the Winter Olympics, the weather does not seem to contribute to the rate of injury at the Summer Olympics. At the summer games, athletes are more likely to be hurt solely based on the type of event in which the athlete competes.
The most common types of injuries that athletes at the Summer Olympics are:
- Strains
- Tendonitis in the arm
- Lower back
- Thigh
These types of harm are typically caused by overuse and repetitive use—for example, curling. Curling was found to have a low rate of injury. Curling did not suffer any injuries from a single and sudden impact. However, athletes reported that curling injuries occurred gradually and over time because of repetitive use of the same muscle areas.
But the biggest question might be, “Who is responsible for paying damages to injured athletes?”
Who Is Responsible for Injured Athletes?
When an accident occurs because of the actions of another person or entity, the injured party must prove that the responsible party acted negligently.
Negligence is a tort or a civil claim against a person or place that failed to act reasonably to ensure a plaintiff’s safety. There are four elements of negligence. If each component is not met, the plaintiff’s negligence claim fails. A plaintiff must prove the following elements to have a successful negligence claim.
Duty
Duty refers to the obligation to act as a reasonable person would in the same or similar circumstances. A duty may arise out of a relationship between two parties. For example, a business owner owes a duty to its patrons to eliminate unreasonable risks of harm.
Breach
A defendant breaches a duty when they fail to act as a reasonable person or business in the same or similar circumstances. It may be challenging to understand if a breach has occurred. It can be challenging for the student-athlete and their family to determine if the school breached their duty, thus causing their injury. Generally, a school is not liable for typical damages because of playing a sport.
Schools, stadiums, and arenas are not responsible for a broken bone, separated shoulder, or even a concussion if the injury occurred simply from playing the sport. However, just like any other business, schools, stadiums, and arenas are responsible for their actions. If a school fails to maintain a basketball court and a player is hurt, the player may have a claim against the school for negligence.
Causation
A plaintiff must prove that the defendant’s breach of its duty caused the plaintiff’s injury. To establish proximate cause, a plaintiff must show that the defendant’s action is sufficiently related to the harm suffered by the plaintiff.
Damages
Even if a plaintiff can prove duty, breach, and causation, the negligence lawsuit will fail if the plaintiff does not suffer damages. Damages may include medical bills, lost wages, property damage, pain and suffering, or other non-economic damages.
The California personal injury lawyers at a reliable law firm have spent decades helping clients build strong cases that prove negligence claims. Call or contact our firm online to schedule a free consultation if you have been injured because of another’s negligence.
What Is Premises Liability and How Does It Affect My Case as an Athlete?
Premises liability is an area within the law of negligence that explains the legal obligation property and business owners have to other people on their property. Sports arenas and other businesses must keep the business property safe from unreasonable risks of harm. For sports arenas, the owners must maintain all areas. The owner of sports stadiums and arenas must maintain the property for the safety of the athletes and bystanders.
Concerning the safety of athletes, a stadium or sports arena must maintain the areas where the game is played. Defense lawyers argue that athletes, including Olympic athletes, risk injury by participating in the game. However, that does not alleviate the burden from the property owner from having to maintain the field, court, or anywhere else that the game is played. The property owner may be liable for injuries caused by an improperly maintained soccer field, for example.
As for bystanders, the business owner is liable for not fixing foreseeable and unreasonable risk of harm. Suppose a bystander is hurt because of negligent maintenance. They may have a claim for negligence against the property and business owner.
Get in touch with a reliable firm today if you have been injured on a business owner’s property. Our attorneys are experienced in getting results for our clients. Our attorneys have decades of experience recovering the compensation injured people need to recover completely and without fighting with insurance companies. Call or visit us online to schedule a free consultation to discuss your legal options. We are here to help.
What Is Assumption of Risk?
The biggest argument against liability that defense lawyers and insurance companies present is that athletes assume the risk of injury when they agree to play in the game. What is meant by “assumption of the risk?” Assumption of risk is a legal defense to negligence. Assumption of risk means that the plaintiff put themselves in harm’s way by engaging in a particular activity. Defendants use this defense to blame plaintiffs for injuries. There are two types of assumptions of risk. An assumption can either be expressed or implied.
Express Assumption of Risk
Express assumption of risk happens when the plaintiff agrees to take a risky activity. The plaintiff knows that an action is dangerous and decides to participate in that activity regardless of the danger. The plaintiff may be asked to verbally or confirm in writing that they understand the action engaging in a dangerous activity and assume the risk of participating in a hazardous activity.
Implied Assumption of Ris
Implied assumption of risk happens when an activity is so dangerous that any reasonable person must assume a risk associated with engaging in the activity. Defendants can win a negligence case if they prove the plaintiff took the risk of injury. Having the right legal team on your side can help overcome an assumption of risk argument.
Contact Our Firm Today
If you have a sports injury, the attorneys at Arash Law headed by Arash Khorsandi can help you seek compensation. In our decades of experience, we have successfully obtained over $500 million in compensation for accident victims. We are passionate about getting our clients the justice they deserve. Call our office today, or visit our website, to learn more about your options after an accident. We are excited to speak with you. Our firm is here to help.