New Haven Sports Injury Lawyer

Playing sports while growing up can teach kids valuable lessons that they carry throughout their lives. Sports teach resilience, that hard work pays off, and how to work as a team. Many people continue to play sports in their adult years to get exercise, stay healthy, and stay connected with friends.

Unfortunately, playing sports can sometimes lead to painful injuries at the hands of others. If you or your child were hurt while playing sports, it is crucial to recognize that you might have legal options. A knowledgeable New Haven sports injury lawyer can help you determine whether a personal injury suit is a viable option and walk you through the steps of getting the payments you deserve.

All Sports Players Assume Some Level of Risk

When players participate in a sport, they automatically assume some risk. Depending on the type of sport, the level of risk can change from slight to serious. For instance, when a teenager signs up to play high school football, they know that the sport is a contact sport that can become violent. The rules of football permit aggressive tackling.

On the other hand, when a teenager signs up to run track, they have a far less likelihood of suffering a contact injury with another athlete. Although a runner might suffer a muscle sprain or broken bone in a fall, they are not as likely to suffer catastrophic injuries on the track as on a football field.

A seasoned New Haven sports injury attorney can review waivers, contracts, and other materials and search for legal avenues of recovery for injured players.

How to Prove Fault for a Sporting Injury

It is not possible for sporting organizers, managers, and coaches to remove all risk of experiencing injuries from sports, particularly when the sport’s rule book allows contact plays. However, sports organizers and coaches can take steps to minimize the risk of injuries to players.

Some of the most common sports injury cases involve the following:

• Inexperienced coaches who fail to train athletes properly, such as by allowing them to run in the heat without proper hydration
• Coaches who leave a player in a game after they clearly suffered an injury
• Faulty equipment that leads to an injury, such as a defective helmet in a football game, could put a player more at risk of suffering a head injury
• When a coach fails to recognize problems on the field, such as a serious health emergency
• When a coach fails to supervise practice
• When a field or court has faulty playing surfaces, such as when a running track has holes in it or a soccer field has divots, which could cause a player to trip or suffer a foot or ankle injury

An experienced New Haven attorney can look into why a sports injury occurred and pin down where there is legal fault. For instance, a lawyer can consult with product design engineers to determine if the injury occurred because of faulty equipment. They can also meet with witnesses to the accident and people familiar with the coaching and training plans to learn if the coach acted unreasonably.

Get in Touch With a New Haven Sports Injury Attorney Today

Although every athlete agrees to assume some level of risk when they sign up to play a sport, this does not excuse other people’s reckless and careless actions. Your coaches, equipment suppliers, and everyone else in charge of the sport should act responsibly. If someone else’s negligence led to you becoming injured, you could have options for legal recourse.

A New Haven sports injury lawyer can listen to your story and walk you through your next steps. Contact us at Berkowitz Hanna today to get started. Your initial consultation is completely free, and you do not owe us a penny unless we win for you.