Personal Injury Law

Sports injuries can occur during professional or everyday athletic activities. They may also involve bystanders. A fan getting by a ball hit at a baseball game is an example of a sports injury involving a bystander.

Some sports injuries result from accidents while others are due to poor conditioning, improper training or faulty equipment. Others occur because of neglect or misleading information provided by their athletic support staff. For those who suffer serious or permanent damage from an athletic injury, their quality of life can change dramatically.

Sports Injury Accident

An example of a sports injury accident is a skier or snowboarder colliding with another. Liability can be extended to the individual who caused the collision.

Professional Athletes

If an athlete is experiencing pain from their activity and continues the motions “working through the pain” causing further harm, they should cease the activity and receive immediate medical attention.  If they’re given improper direction from a certified athletic trainer, coach or medical practitioner on how to handle their injury, they may have legal recourse against those who misled or neglected them.

The legal system recognizes that a duty exists from the athletic trainer and team physician, to protect the health and safety of the athletes. Liability can extend to the coaches, doctors and sports insurance providers.

Athlete’s Support Staff’s Responsibilities

Since an athletic trainer is a sports medicine professional they are expected to meet a standard level of care established by certification boards, training programs and state licensing requirements.  They are held to the level of care that a reasonable sports medicine professional would be held to in a similar situation.

Trainers and team physicians are expected to protect their athletes by the following:

• Properly assessing the athlete’s condition
• Providing or obtaining proper medical treatment
• Providing clearance to participate

• Informing the athlete of the risks of athletic participation given their particular medical condition

Common Sports Injuries

Sports injuries are primarily problems involving the musculoskeletal system, which includes bones, muscles and other associated tissues. The most common sports injuries include:

• Fractures
• Sprains and strained muscles
• Knee injuries
• Dislocated joints
• Head injuries

Injury Types

Injuries can be acute or chronic. Acute injuries happen suddenly during an athletic activity. Chronic injuries result from overdoing a sport or exercise for a prolonged period of time.

The signs of an acute injury include:

• Sudden swelling
• Weakness in the arms and legs
• Tenderness in an upper limb
• Lower limbs can’t support body weight
• Bone dislocation or breakage

Chronic injury symptoms:

• Extreme swelling
• Dull ache when activity ceases
• Pain when performing

All serious sports accidents/injuries should be thoroughly investigated at the time of the event. If the injury may have been caused due to someone else’s neglect, legal guidance is necessary.

In Alabama, if your loved one is suffering from a debilitating sports injury, you may be eligible for compensation. Please contact the personal injury specialists at The Shelnutt Law Firm in Gadsden, Alabama.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/personal-injury-articles/sports-injuries-1557058.html

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 8:29 pm and is filed under Personal Injury Law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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