The recent handing down Czernuszka v King [2023] EWHC 380 (KB) has shown that whilst serious injury is an accepted risk in sport, sport is not exempt from the law of negligence and in doing so has set a legal precedent for injury claims in the context of sport. Whilst it can be argued that activities on the playing field do benefit from certain immunity to the law if the actions of the players fall within the rules of the sport, where the actions fall foul of the rules there is a possibility that a personal injury claim can be brought.
By way of background, Czernuszka was playing for her amateur rugby team in 2017 when she was the victim of an illegitimate tackle by King, whereby King exerted her full weight on Czernuszka neck and back. Czernuszka suffered life changing spinal injuries and now is bound to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.
Czernuszka solicitor successfully argued that his client was in a vulnerable position as she could not possibly brace herself for the illegal tackle, the tackle had no place within the game of rugby and that the defendant had a duty of care towards every player on the pitch which she did not exercise as per the legal principle applied in Condon v Basi.
The judge made reference in the proceedings to Kings reckless disregard to the safety of her fellow players and also the threats King had made to Czernuszka earlier in the game such as “wanting to break her” which was argued as evidence that the dangerous tackle was a pre-meditated attack on Czernuszka.
The main take away points from this judgment is that that in a sporting context there is a duty to exercise such degree of care as is appropriate within the parameters of the sport. This standard of duty is objective, but is heavily dependent on circumstances such as the professional level the sport is being played at (a professional player would be judged differently to a grassroots player). Thirdly, careful consideration should be given to the pleadings and proving the claim. In this case, the game was being video recorded as part of a trial program for a new women’s rugby league and so the footage of the tackle was played in Court as part of the claimant’s evidence.
Whilst not usually considered in a sporting context, this case goes to show that an injury in sport can be the beginning of a personal injury claim for the victim. However, the victim will need to realise that these sorts of claims are very different to another personal injury claim, such as a Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) in which the defendant will be insured for their actions and the compensatory reward the claimant will receive could come from the insurers directly. In a sporting claim, especially at grassroots, the defendant will likely not be insured by the team they play for, making a compensatory reward hard to obtain. Also the principle of volenti non fit injuria must be applied to each individual sporting injury case. In the context of sport, this principle would be defined as when a person knowingly accepts the risks of injury associated with a contact sport but proceeds to participate in said sport, they will not be able to claim for such an injury unless this injury is far removed from the rules within the game. Therefore each sporting injury case would have to be reviewed on a case by case basis.
If you or someone you know has been injured whilst taking part in a sport and the injury was as result of an action that falls outside the rules of the game, we at Ramsdens can assist in bringing a claim. Please contact our Personal Injury and Abuse team by sending us an email on info@ramsdens.co.uk or calling us on 01484 821 500.