Can You Sue in New York if Your Kid Suffers a Sports Injury?

Participating in sports is an excellent way for kids to stay healthy as well as develop important life skills such as self-esteem, leadership, and teamwork. The positive effect of sports definitely outweighs the negative – unless you’re talking about injuries.

Regardless of whether your child plays a team sport or an individual sport, there’s always a  risk of injury when participating in a physical activity. That risk of injury can be higher or lower depending on which sport your child plays.

When you look at child athletes between the ages of 5 and 14, there are definitely differences among which sports result in more injuries:

• 28 percent of percent of football players
• 25 percent of baseball players
• 22 percent of soccer players
• 15 percent of basketball players, and
• 12 percent of softball players.

What type of injuries are we talking about here?

The Most Common Sports Injuries

There are numerous ways athletes can get injured playing sports, but some injuries are seen more frequently than others. Here are the 10 most common sports injuries:

• Patellofemoral syndrome or knee injuries
• Shoulder injuries such as dislocations, misalignment, muscle strains, and ligament sprains.
• Tennis or golf elbow from activities that require gripping
• Strained hamstring
• Sciatica
• Shin splints from sports that involve a lot of running
• Strained groin
• Concussions
• ACL tear or strain
• Strained hip flexor

So now you know what type of injuries to be wary of when your child participates in sports, but what happens in the event that your child is injured? Can someone else be liable?

Liability in Child Sports

In most instances, if your child is injured while playing a sport you won’t be able to hold anyone responsible. As mentioned above, when anyone participates in a sport, they understand that there is a risk of getting injured.

However, there are certain instances when you might be able to hold someone accountable for your child’s sports injury due to that other person’s or entity’s negligence.

Equipment failure. If your child’s injury is a result of an equipment failure or a defective product, then you might be able to hold the manufacturer of the equipment responsible for the injuries. For example, if a golf club head comes flying off during a swing due to equipment failure and hits someone causing a serious injury, the company that made the golf clubs could potentially be liable.

Return-to-play decisions. When a child is injured, their coach or trainer needs to decide if that child can keep playing or should sit out the rest of the game. If the coach or trainer is negligent in their decision in allowing the child to return to the game under rare circumstances, you might be able to hold the school and coaches responsible.

If your child is seriously injured while playing sports, the particular fact scenario leading up to the injury will be especially important in determining liability. Reach out to an experienced New York personal injury attorney today to find out if you have a case and are entitled to compensation.