Duty of Care in Sports; What you need to know

It is not uncommon for injuries to occur to the participants in a sporting event. 

Unfortunately, the risk of injury, particularly in contact sports, is a recognised occupational hazard.

However the level of risk differs greatly from activity to activity. Some sports have a very low level of injury risk because there is no body contact, no quickness of movements required, no flying implements, no machinery and little exposure to the forces of nature. Playing cards or Chess are examples of such low risk activities. On the other hand there are sports which have high levels of risk such as the various codes of Football, Cycling, Rugby League,  Rugby Union etc.

Sometimes, injuries in high risk sports occur as a direct result of negligence, and cannot be attributed to the usual accepted risk of the sport concerned.

In lieu of this, duty of care is very vital for all Sporting organizations and their participants.

Duty of care simply means that all parties involved in a sporting event have a duty to adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could potentially harm others.

Anyone who has an official capacity to organise and manage sport programs and events has a duty to make such activities as safe as possible for anyone who participates. Participants also have a duty to ensure that they take reasonable steps to prevent injury to other participants, officials or spectators in the course of play.

Parties may include;

• Persons in an official capacity (coaches, referees, coordinators, club administrators, grounds caretakers and owners of the sport facility. and 
• Participants (players, player supporters, spectators, coaches, referees and other officials such as time keepers and helpers.)

In sports, a duty of care is owed to others in various ways. For instance, in contact sports such as rugby league, each player owes a duty of care to each other. Governing bodies, Clubs and individuals who arrange sporting events have a duty of care to participants and others. Match officials and coaches owe a duty of care to their players and clients etc.

 

It is important to note that some people in society are owed a higher duty of care as they are less able to look after themselves. This group includes children, persons with a disability, mentally ill, elderly and in some instances those who are pregnant.

Examples of actions of duty of care are as follows

• Sport officials and coaches must be properly accredited
• Sport facilities must be checked for safety and hazards removed prior to sport activity
• Children and/or other vulnerable segments of the population should be supervised when they participate in sport activities.
• Implements used in the pursuit of sport are in good working order
• Sport participants are appropriately prepared for the sport activities they undertake. This includes health checks, fitness training, coaching and knowledge of rules.
• Injured persons are withdrawn from participation as soon as the injury comes to light.
• Behaviour that may increase the possibility of injury is discouraged and action taken against persistent perpetrators of inappropriate behaviour.
• Ensure that there are persons on hand who can respond appropriately to emergencies. This usually involves the provision training and the development of procedure
• Educate participants to undertake the activity safely as possible (this includes ensuring that participants know and understand the rules of the game and wearing protective clothing/equipment)

A duty of care is breached when someone is injured because of the action (or in some cases, the lack of action) of another person when it was reasonably foreseeable that the action could cause injury, and a reasonable person in the same position would not have acted that way.

For example, although a stamp or a punch will be considered as an unacceptable means of play in Rugby League, a dangerous tackle in certain circumstances may be treated as reckless disregard for the victim’s safety. In such instances, the conduct may be deliberate (to cause physical harm). In other cases, it will be negligence.

Once a breach of duty of care has been established, it must then be proven that the negligent act caused the personal injury to the claimant. This will be easy to prove in the case of a sporting event where there is direct contact between the participants.

The tort of negligence occurs when someone breaches a duty of care they owe to someone else. If this breach of duty results in physical harm or loss to the individual to whom the duty is owed, a negligence claim for compensation may follow.

Where sports injuries are sustained because of someone else’s negligence, a claim may be made for compensation for personal injury.

In some cases, criminal cases may follow a sporting incident that resulted in someone’s injury. 

For a negligence claim following sporting injuries to be successful, the following elements must be established:

The claimant would have to show: 

• That they were owed a duty of care 
• That the defendant breached this duty 
• That they suffered damage as a result of the breach. 

If legal action is taken, the following criteria would be used to decide if an organisation or individual should be held responsible: 

• Injury is reasonably foreseeable 
• Proximity 
• It is fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty of care. 

Below is a example of some evidence that may be needed:

• Photographic or video evidence
• Eye-witnesses
• Referee Opinion
• Expert Evidence

Those responsible for high risk sports like Rugby League, Rugby Union,  Basketball etc should think of themselves like an employer and carry out risk assessments for their activities. This must include elements related to duty of care and health and safety.

The next step will be to manage the activity in a safe manner throughout. 

All stakeholders in sports have an important part to play to ensure the development of sports and to ensure that it is as safe as possible