Suffered an Injury While Playing Professional Sport? You May Have a Claim

If you’ve been injured while playing professional sport you may find yourself in a situation where you are unable to work, but bound by an employment contract. Furthermore, you may feel you’re due compensation.

Here our employment law Associate Solicitor, David Lewis, shares his knowledge of the case law in sport and how Howells can help:

Sport and the Law: Do You Have a Case?

Professional athletes should all carry suitable insurance to mitigate the impact upon their earning potential of an injury or, in the worst case, a career-ending incident.

Of course, professional sport comes with risk; some of which is an acceptable part of an athletes chosen career, however there are occasions where an injury is caused by third party negligence or by an incident during sport which goes well beyond foreseeable risk. In such cases, athletes should take prompt legal advice from a solicitor experienced in advising on such issues, as to whether they may have a valid claim.

Where a sports person is injured whilst under contract, there may well be provision for the club or organisation to end that contract prematurely, but both the athlete and the club need to ensure that this is approached fairly and within the contractual terms. If not, they could face a potential claim for breach.

Where either a club or a player believe that the athlete’s ability to perform services as a professional are compromised by injury, then there may be a sensible commercial approach available to negotiating an exit from an existing contract which is worth exploring.

How Can Howells Help You?

At Howells solicitors, we have experienced specialists who regularly advise and negotiate on these matters and we will be able to assist you at a time where you may be concerned about the impact of an injury.

Should you want to make an accident claim, our personal injury law department will be able to advise you on whether you have a case and your next steps.

Find out more about David Lewis and his experience with sport and the law in our post ‘Employment Law Specialist Joins Our Growing Department’.