Sports Injury Compensation - How Much Can I Claim?

Sports are an important part of many peoples’ fitness and social calendar. For the most part, sports are pretty safe but things do go wrong. That’s why we’ve made this guide to claiming sports injury compensation.

Important topics such as eligibility, how compensation is calculated and some common causes of sporting injuries are covered here. We have also explained a few key aspects of the claims process such as gathering evidence and time limits.

At the end of our guide is a short section on the No Win No Fee contract offered by our panel of solicitors, paying particular attention to the benefits to you of claiming under such terms.

To get your free assessment or to get answers to any questions you might have, talk to our team today using the contact information provided here:

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Browse Our Guide

How Much Compensation Can You Claim For A Sports Injury
Am I Eligible To Claim Sports Injury Compensation?
Who Can Be Held Liable For A Sports Injury?
Causes Of Sports Injury Compensation Claims
Common Types Of Sporting Injury
How To Make A Sports Injury Claim
Why Trust Our Panel Of Solicitors With Your Claim?
More Information

How Much Compensation Can You Claim For A Sports Injury

Sports injury compensation could be awarded under two heads of claim, general and special damages. These compensate for physical and psychiatric damage, and financial losses, respectively. We’ll look at special damages in more detail in the next section.

Potential general damages figures can be calculated by referring to your medical documents alongside the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), a publication containing guideline compensation brackets for various injuries. A relevant selection of JCG figures, excluding the top entry, have been used in the table here.

Use Our Personal Injury Compensation Calculator

Please be advised that this information has been included for guidance purposes only.

Type of Injury	Severity	Guideline Compensation Figure	Notes
Multiple Very Severe Injuries with Special Damages	Very Severe	Up to £1,000,000 +	Multiple very severe injuries together with substantial financial harm including lost pay, medical expenses and care needs.
Brain Damage	Very Severe (a)	£344,150 to £493,000	Little or no environmental response or language function, double incontinence and the need for full time professional care.
	Moderately Severe (b)	£267,340 to £344,150	Very serious disability, whether physical or cognitive, resulting in a substantial dependence on others.
Paralysis	Paraplegia (b)	£267,340 to £346,890	Awards for paraplegia depend the pain level, degree of independence and the age and life expectancy of the injured person.
Facial Disfigurement	Very Severe Scarring	£36,340 to £118,790	In young claimants where there is a very disfiguring cosmetic effect and severe psychological reaction.
	Less Severe Scarring	£21,920 to £59,090	Substantial disfigurement and significant psychological effect.
Achilles Tendon Injuries	Most Serious	In the region of £46,900	Severance of the Achilles tendon causing cramp, swelling and restricted ankle movement
	Serious	£30,500 to £36,720	Where complete tendon division has been repaired but there is residual weakness, movement limitation and scarring.
Leg Injuries	Less Serious (i)	£21,920 to £33,880	Reasonable recovery but a defective gait and/or metal implant with impaired mobility or sensory loss will be present.
	Less Serious (ii)	£11,120 to £17,180	Simple fractures with no articular surface damage.

Considering Special Damages

Special damages are the second head of claim and compensate for the financial harm caused by your injuries. It is important to note that both current and future losses can be compensated under special damages so payouts under this head of claim are often much higher than anything awarded under general damages.

We have given a few examples here:

Lost pay due to time taken off work.
Medical expenses including therapy or counselling, prescription medications and private healthcare.
Home modifications if your mobility has been impacted. For example ramps, stairlifts or a modified shower.
Domestic care and support such food preparation, cleaning, tending any outside space and caring for dependants.

You will need to provide some proof of these costs so make sure you hold onto documents such as your payslips, receipts, invoices and other bills that show what expenses were incurred.

To get a zero cost, no obligation eligibility assessment, contact our advisory team using the details provided below.

Am I Eligible To Claim Sports Injury Compensation?

Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, the party in control of a public place, called an occupier, has a duty of care to all visitors to their premises. A duty of care means a legal responsibility to a person or persons’ safety. The law requires steps to ensure the reasonable safety of any visitors are taken by the occupier.

The organisers of sporting events also have a duty of care to the participants to ensure the event is run safely. This can include things like having appropriately trained referees and medical staff, and making sure any protective gear like helmets or padding are provided if applicable.

We have summarised the eligibility criteria to begin a claim here:

You were owed a duty of care.
This duty was breached in some way.
You suffered injuries as a result of this breach.

Who Can Be Held Liable For A Sports Injury?

Liability in a sports injury compensation claim can be difficult to establish. By playing sports, you accept a certain level of risk. While there is a risk of injury with any sporting activity, this is heightened significantly in contact sports such as rugby or in combat sports like boxing, wrestling and martial arts for example.

Even if the organisers take every precaution regarding playing conditions and the referee (if present) manages the game without fault, injuries can occur. What this means is that in order to claim for sports injuries, you need to be able to clearly demonstrate that the duty of care was breached.

However, there is always a duty of care owed by the organisers of a sporting event to keep the participants relatively safe. Therefore, most sports injury claims are made against the insurance held by the organisers or against the public liability insurance of those who control the venue.

Causes Of Sports Injury Compensation Claims

If an organiser or occupier of the grounds has breached their duty of care and caused injuries then sports injury compensation could be claimed. Examples of sporting accidents that could occur due to someone else’s negligence can include:

A leisure centre had failed to complete repairs to the ceiling of their squash courts, despite staff reporting panels were coming loose. One of these panels fell during your game and hit your head, causing a significant head injury.
When playing a hockey game at your local club, a defender’s stick snapped mid-game, causing a large piece to fly off and lacerate your leg. The club were aware some of the equipment was in need of replacement but had issued the stick regardless.
Despite you showing clear signs of injury, a referee did not stop a wrestling match during a training session. You tore your Achilles tendon and suffered a wrenching injury to your neck as a result of this.

This is by no means an exhaustive list; there are many other ways in which the organisers or the occupiers of the sports ground could fail to uphold their duty of care. To get a free eligibility assessment in your particular circumstances, talk to our advisory team today using the contact information given above.

Common Types Of Sporting Injury

Due to the varied nature of sporting activity, we cannot possibly list every injury that could be sustained during a sporting accident. Nevertheless, we’ve listed a few injuries that you could experience here:

Head and brain injuries.
Paralysis.
Soft tissue injuries such as sprain and strains.
Back Injuries.
Broken bones.
Cuts and lacerations.
Injuries to the jaw or teeth.
Facial scars.

Talk to our advisory team today to find out more about the types of injury you could claim for following a sporting accident.

How To Make A Sports Injury Claim

Claiming sports injury compensation can seem complex at first, which is why you’ll see below explanations of a few key aspects of the process. Our advisors can provide more detailed guidance via the number given at the end of this guide.

Gather Supporting Evidence

Evidence is a key part of any claim. As well as the need to prove a breach of the duty of care occurred, your evidence will also show what injuries you sustained and how serious they were.

Examples can include:

Medical records.
CCTV footage.
Contact details of potential witnesses.
Records of maintenance and training.

Time Limits When Making A Claim

Most personal injury cases are subject to a 3 year time limit as per the Limitation Act 1980, counted from the date of the accident. There are, however, circumstances where exceptions to the general rule can apply, these are:

Children: Any injured person who is under 18 cannot claim for themselves. In cases where a child is injured, the 3 years are counted instead from their 18th birthday.
Persons lacking sufficient mental capacity: If the injured person lacks the mental capacity to claim for themselves then the 3 year limit is halted indefinitely. In cases where a recovery is made, the 3 years is counted from the date of recovery.

In order to begin a claim much sooner, a litigation friend may be appointed. This is where a suitable adult is given the authority to make decisions about the case on behalf of the injured person. In cases where a child is awarded compensation, the compensation is held by the Court Funds Office (CFO) until they turn 18.

How Long It Takes To Get Sports Injury Compensation

This is something we cannot provide an exact time frame for. While the solicitors on our panel will aim to complete your claim as quickly as possible, there are many factors which are outside of their control.

Factors that can affect the time frame in personal injury claims include:

More serious injuries require longer treatment and longer recovery take more time to properly assess.
Whether the defendant admits liability straight away.
Delays in acquiring evidence.
Protracted settlement negotiations.

If you are eligible to claim, the ins and outs of the claims process, including potential delays to compensation, the time limits and gathering evidence will all be explained to you. You can inquire further by talking to our advisors.

Why Trust Our Panel Of Solicitors With Your Claim?

Trust is the most important currency when deciding which solicitor to make your claim with. At How Much Compensation, we fully understand how daunting and complex the claims process can be.

That’s why our panel of solicitors has spent years cultivating a reputation for professionalism, customer service and winning their clients the compensation they deserve. If you’re eligible to claim, a solicitor from our panel will support your claim from start to finish, assisting you with tasks such as gathering evidence and breaking the legal language barrier, as well as accurately valuing your injuries and negotiating a settlement on your behalf.

Claiming On A No Win No Fee Basis

Our panel can offer eligible claimants a No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Such a contract gives clear advantages to the claimant, providing benefits such as:

No fee for the solicitor to commence work on the case.
You will also not incur any fees for that work during the actual claims process.
Lastly, should the claim fail, you will not incur any solicitor fees.

Sports injury compensation will be paid out if your claim succeeds. A success fee will be taken from this compensation by the solicitor. As The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 imposes a binding cap on these fees, you will receive the majority of whatever is paid out.