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Suing After a Sports Injury in Illinois

Sports can be rough, and often that’s the whole point. But what happens when someone gets seriously injured due to unnecessary roughness or when one player intentionally injures another? In these instances, a player may be liable for injuries they cause.

If you have been injured by another player or injured due to the actions of a non-player like a coach or referee, you may be considering a lawsuit. Talking to an attorney familiar with sports injury lawsuits should be one of your first steps (after medical attention, of course). There are some special rules for these types of cases.

The courts recognize that most sports are physical activities and some can even be dangerous. They say that if you are involved in a sporting event, you are taking a known risk – the risk that you may get hurt.

Basically, individuals involved in certain sports – contact sports – are allowed more leeway in their actions. The law doesn't expect people to be as careful when playing basketball as when doing other activities, such as driving a car.

However, this doesn’t give anyone a license to intentionally cause harm or completely disregard the safety of others. If you believe you were intentionally injured by another player or if they were acting beyond what is acceptable in the routine roughness of a game, you may want to consult an attorney. Also, if your child was injured in a sport at school or through a sports association, a lawsuit may be appropriate. Regardless of the standard, there is still a duty to supervise and instruct players.

Negligence is typically the rule in personal injury cases – people are liable when their negligence causes injury. And this is still the rule in non-contact sports. But when it comes to contact sports, liability only exists when a person’s actions are intentional or willful and wanton. This is known as the contact sports exception or the contact sports doctrine.

Under the contact sports exception, you have to prove that the defendant acted worse than negligently, that they acted intentionally or recklessly. There is no clear-cut definition; it very much depends on the specific facts of your case. Often, it comes down to what is acceptable or routine in the particular sport. If you’re on the basketball court, jumping up for a rebound is acceptable, as is an intentional foul. However, tripping another player may be considered reckless and liability may exist if it causes injury. The facts of each case, and the nature of the sport involved, are very important.

As we mentioned, the exception applies only to contact sports, but what qualifies as a contact sport? What matters is whether physical contact is an expected part of the sport. Soccer, baseball and basketball are considered contact sports. Even though tackling isn’t part of the game, physical contact is certainly expected.

If you have suffered a sports injury, the question of whether you were involved in a contact sport may be important in your case because it determines what you have to prove to win – negligence or something more. In a sport like tennis, physical contact is probably not an expected part of the game, so you may only need to prove negligence on behalf of the player, a coach, etc.

There is an even more specific category with an even higher standard: “full-contact” sports. An individual involved in a full-contact sport is liable only if the injury is intentional or their conduct is completely outside the range of normal activity for the sport. A full-contact sport is one in which physical contact is not only expected but a fundamental part of the game. Football, hockey and boxing are examples of full-contact sports. If you are seriously injured in a boxing match, you would have to prove that the defendant’s actions were intentional and beyond what is acceptable in that particular sport.

The contact sport rule not only applies to players but “non-participants” as well. Referees, coaches, etc., are allowed more leeway when it comes to liability for injuring someone else. The general reasoning behind this rule is that holding these individuals accountable for negligence would harm or alter the sport. In other words, the courts say that a coach making a quick decision during a game cannot be expected to be extremely careful, and holding coaches and others to such a standard would ruin the sport.

As we mentioned, both participants and non-participants still owe a duty to not harm others. A high-school football coach is expected to instruct the players on safety, and a referee in a wrestling match is expected to stop the match if they see a violation. Players are expected to keep their actions within acceptable boundaries. The question is: How careful are they expected to be?

In recent years there have been some high profile cases involving injuries while playing sports that didn’t involve other players. One successful case involved a boy that was paralyzed when he ran into a concrete wall that was too close to a football sideline. Another involved a boy who was struck by lightning when the school should have removed all of the players from the field. A few inexperienced attorneys told those families that they didn’t have a case. Any serious injury should be evaluated by a qualified lawyer.

This area of law can be confusing. We wouldn’t recommend deciding on your own whether you have a sports injury case worth pursuing. If you or your child has been injured, talk to an experienced injury attorney. There are a ton of personal injury lawyers out there, but very few have demonstrated success with the contact sports doctrine. It’s really a niche area of law.

If you need a referral, please contact us. We can recommend an Illinois attorney with experience and a track record of success with sports injuries. Initial consultations are free and a good way to get your questions answered.