Sports are a great way to have fun, stay active, and be part of a team. They give adults and children the benefit of social interaction, activities that encourage cooperation, and something to motivate them to achieve goals. Men, women, and children of all ages enjoy sports in Mobile, Alabama. Yet, there are some risks that come along with these healthy and engaging activities. Sports cause millions of injuries every year, including 3.5 million injuries to children and teenagers, alone, accounting for roughly 1/3 of all sports injuries in children under the age of 14 years old.
What Kinds of Accidents and Mistakes Result in Mobile, Alabama, Sports Injuries?
There are many different ways that sports injuries can occur in Mobile, Alabama. Many sports involve physical
If you’ve been injured in a sports related injury, contact Mobile Alabama Lawyer Charles McCorquodale today!
contact, like tackling in football or the contact inherent to wrestling. There are also sports that involve a lot of running, like soccer, and can result in collisions between players. Other times, injuries are caused by a person tripping or slipping and falling, being struck by an object (like a ball), or not having the appropriate safety equipment (such as a helmet in football). In some cases, the coaches aren’t trained properly, or they don’t train the players properly, and mistakes are made. Players may even break the rules of the sport and cause injury on purpose or on accident.
There are also injuries that are caused by or exacerbated by a failure to respond appropriately when accidents occur. For instance, if someone is struck in the head by a baseball, and the proper protocol for assessing and responding to a possible concussion is not followed, then that person may end up suffering from a traumatic brain injury, without any treatment. If someone fractures or sprains an ankle, and if this is not attended to by a medical professional, then such an injury can grow much worse through continuing to put weight on that ankle, for example.
What Kinds of Sports Injuries are Most Common in Mobile, Alabama?
Just as there are many ways to become injured through sports accidents and mistakes, there are a large number of different injuries that the player could end up suffering from. The most common of these include fractured and dislocated bones, and sprains, strains, and tears to the muscles, tendons, or ligaments. Concussions and traumatic brain injuries are also common sports related injuries, as are lacerations, scrapes, cuts, and bruises. Proper use of safety equipment, proper supervision of children in sports, and a proper response to potential injuries can minimize the likelihood of serious sports injuries. The sports that involve the highest likelihood of being injured in Mobile, Alabama, include basketball, bicycling, football, baseball, softball, and soccer.
Children are at the greatest risk because children are not only more likely to be involved in such sports, but they are also more prone to accidents, more likely to make mistakes while playing sports, and more likely to fail to use their equipment properly. Further, children are less likely to be aware of the need for medical treatment, in some cases; and adults may not realize there is a medical treatment need if the child doesn’t say anything and if no adult witnessed the injury.
Can You Recover Compensation for Sports Injuries in Mobile, Alabama?
Many people don’t realize that it is often possible to recover compensation for Mobile, Alabama, sports injuries. It all depends on how the injury occurred and whether anyone can be held legally liable. If someone else’s negligence is responsible for the incident and injury, then there is a very good chance that you can get compensation for the medical expenses, any lost wages, any lost future earning potential, and non-economic damages, like pain and suffering. To do this, you need to fully understand how the law applies to your case and how to go about pursuing a Mobile, Alabama, personal injury claim. The attorneys at Charles McCorquodale Law are happy to provide a free consultation, answer all of your questions, and get you started on the right path towards establishing negligence and liability as well as the value of your damages. Whether the injury involves an adult or child, we know what to do.
How Are Things Different When Sports Injuries are Sustained by a Child?
As long as you can prove that your child’s sports injury occurred due to someone else’s negligence, or if the injury was made worse because of negligence (such as not assessing and properly responding to a potential head injury or a fractured bone), you should be able to recover compensation for the associated damages. However, injuries to children will involve different laws and statutes, and recovering compensation can be a more complicated process.
One example of how sports injuries differ between adults and children is the statute of limitations, or deadline for filing a claim. Alabama law allows for an adult who has suffered an injury to file a personal injury claim within two years of the injury, of discovery of the injury, or of when the injury should have been discovered. Thus, if a head injury is discovered two weeks later, you have two years from the date of discovery, rather than the date of injury. However, it can be more difficult, in such cases, to prove that the injury occurred because of the sports related accident.
For children, the statute starts when the child reaches the age of 19. The child could pursue a personal injury claim at any time between the ages of 19 and 21. This doesn’t mean that the parents or guardians can’t pursue a personal injury claim for a minor; but special laws and rules will apply, and there may be a guardian ad litem appointed to represent the best interests of the child in such a claim.
If you or your child were injured while playing any sport in Mobile, Alabama, contact Charles McCorquodale Law to learn more about your options and how the law applies to your case.
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