Millions of students every year suffer sports-related injuries while participating in school activities. These injuries may range from mild to severe. They can be painful for the child and expensive to treat. School districts may be legally responsible for a student’s injuries, based on negligence.
When the school, teacher, coach, or school district is responsible for the student’s injuries, they may be required to pay for damages. Damages in a personal injury lawsuit can include:
Knowing how and when it is possible to file a personal injury lawsuit against a school district can be complicated. There may be special timelines and notice requirements for filing a lawsuit against a school.
Below, our personal injury attorneys address the following:
- 1. Types of Sports Injuries
- 2. Financial Compensation
- 3. School Liability
- 4. Liability Waivers
- 5. Unwaivable Risks
- 6. Filing a Lawsuit
- Additional Reading
Millions of students every year suffer sports-related injuries while participating in school activities.
1. Types of Sports Injuries
In the United States, more than 2.6 million children aged 19 and under are sent to the emergency room with injuries related to sports every year.1 This includes a number of sports-related injuries that occurred
- at school,
- on school grounds, or
- through school-organized team sports.
The types of injuries that can occur due to a sports-related accident vary, depending on the participant’s age, sport, and other factors. Common school sports injuries may include:
- Ankle sprains,
- Broken bones,
- Pulled or sprained muscles or tendons,
- Concussions,
- Knee injuries,
- Spinal trauma,
- Stress fractures,
- Injuries to the eyes,
- Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears,
- Shoulder damage, and
- Heat-related sickness.
School injuries can even occur on the way to or from a competition if a school bus is involved in an accident.
What are the most dangerous school sports?
Any sport has the potential to injure a student. However, certain sports are statistically more likely to cause injury simply because of the nature of the activity, such as in contact sports. Some of the most common sports that lead to injuries include:
- Football: Football is nearly universally considered the most dangerous youth sport. There is a high concussion rate among young football players, and studies are still coming out showing the dangers of continuous trauma to the brain. Because of the high impact nature of the sport, there are also serious risks to bones, limbs, and the face. 2
- Lacrosse: Although Lacrosse sees fewer injuries in number per year than many other sports, by percentage the sport can be quite dangerous. There is a high risk of concussions from player collisions, impact with the stick, or impact with the ball. A “body-check” can result in a shoulder injury and other internal damage. 3
- Wrestling: Wrestling involves intense muscle strain, powerful moves, and body slams that can injure a student. Concussions are again a significant risk, as well as “cauliflower ear” if the proper protection is not worn during a match or during practice. 4
- Cheerleading: This may seem surprising to some, but cheerleaders are expected to perform complex stunts, tumbling, and tosses. Cheerleading, especially competitive cheerleading, often causes muscle damage, broken bones due to falls, and other severe injuries. 5
- Basketball: Basketball can be aggressive, but is always meant to be fast-paced. Quick transitions and stops put great strain on leg muscles and joints. Shoulders can be damaged from shooting and head or back injuries may result from falls onto the hard basketball court. 6
School training facilities, such as a gym, fitness center, or workout room, can also be the source of injuries for all school sports. This includes accidents involving slips and falls, lack of supervision, lifting injuries, or workout equipment product defects.
2. Financial Compensation
Once you and your attorney prove your case against the school district, you can be awarded financial compensation for your injuries and property damage. Compensatory damages include both financial losses associated with the injury, as well as non-economic damages for pain and suffering.
Compensatory damages in a school sports injury lawsuit may include:
- Medical bills;
- ER treatment;
- Surgical costs;
- Future medical costs, including rehabilitation;
- Loss of income (if the student has a job or the parents have to take time off work);
- Loss of future income;
- Compensation for loss of limbs, scarring, or disfigurement; and
- Pain and suffering.
In limited circumstances, punitive damages may be available where the accident was intentional or the school tried to cover up some wrongdoing by school officials.
Fatal School Sports Injuries
If a school sports injury resulted in the death of someone you love, a personal representative or family members can bring a wrongful death lawsuit. Damages in a wrongful death lawsuit can include compensation for the family members and beneficiaries due to the loss of a loved one. Wrongful death lawsuit damages may include:
- Funeral and burial expenses;
- Financial losses to the family; and
- Compensation for loss of support and companionship.
3. School Liability
When a student is injured during a school sports activity, such as a practice or a competitive event, the liability may fall on a number of parties. Teachers, coaches, and school administrators generally have a duty of care to their students. When these individuals fail to follow their duty of care which results in an injury, these defendants may be liable for damages.7
The school district may also be liable for unsafe conditions on school property. When the school does not properly keep school property in a reasonably safe condition that causes an accident, the school may be liable under premises liability laws.8
Even if a coach, facilities manager, or teacher was negligent in causing the injury, the school district may still be liable for damages. Under “Respondeat Superior” laws, an employer can be held vicariously liable for the negligence of their employees.9
Schools can have parents sign waivers in order to allow their children to participate in school sports. While schools can exempt themselves from inherent risks associated with school sports, they may not force you to waive all risks not inherent to the sport.
4. Liability Waivers
A waiver of liability form is a document that parents are often required to sign before their child may participate in a school sport or other activity. These waivers, often called “consent” forms, seek to prevent you from filing a lawsuit against the school in the case of a student’s injury arising from “ordinary negligence.”
What is ordinary negligence?
Ordinary negligence includes injuries that happen because of inherent risk in the sport. When that inherent risk causes the injury, the school is likely immune from suit because of the signed waiver or consent form. Inherent risks of some school sports may include:
- Lacrosse: Accidental strikes from lacrosse sticks or lacrosse balls that cause injury.
- Football: Injuries resulting from tackles, throwing, or running.
- Basketball: Facial injury due to a high and hard pass or accidental elbow to the face.
5. Unwaivable Risks
Certain types of risks generally cannot be waived because they are a crucial part of a school’s duty to keep students safe from harm.
Known Defects in Equipment
If a student is injured because a piece of equipment is defective or broken, and the school or a school employee knew of that defect, the school could be held liable for the injuries and resulting damages from the injury.
Even unknown sporting or workout equipment equipment may allow parents to file a product liability lawsuit. Product manufacturers, distributors, and sellers are strictly liable for any injuries caused by product defects.10
Example: The swim team had new diving boards installed. A swimmer gets up to dive off the board, which breaks on the first bounce. The swimmer falls and is cut severely on the edge of the broken board. The diving board manufacturer or company that sold the diving board may be liable for damages.
Improper Maintenance of Field, Court, or Track
Similar to defective equipment, if the school knows of a dangerous condition that exists on one of its fields, courts, or tracks the school may be liable.
Example: A large hole exists in the middle of lane 3 on the track. The school is aware and has done nothing to fix the problem. James lands in the hole after performing a hurdle, breaking his ankle. The school may be liable for James’ injuries.
Inadequate Supervision
If a coach or other instructor fails to properly oversee the students under his or her care, and oversight would have prevented that injury, the school may be held liable for the student’s injuries. The level of supervision required can depend on the dangerousness of the activity and the age of the students involved.
Coach and Staff Negligence
Negligence, especially gross negligence, on the part of a coach or other staff can be a basis for filing a personal injury lawsuit to recover damages on a student’s behalf. This could result from improper training techniques, overstretching or overexerting a student, or other conduct outside the scope of the staff member’s training and experience which causes injury.
Intentional Harm
Liability waivers generally do now excuse intentionally harming a student. If a coach, teacher, or supervisor hits a student or throws something at a student, that individual may be liable for intentional harm caused by assault or battery.
6. Filing a Lawsuit
Multiple steps must be taken to file a personal injury lawsuit against a school. First, it must be determined who is responsible for the student’s sports injury. This could be:
- A coach,
- A staff instructor,
- Another student,
- The school itself, or
- Manufacturer of equipment which caused injury.
In many jurisdictions, lawsuits against government organizations, including a school district, require a “notice” of some kind to be filed. This notice requirement may be subject to the strict guidelines set up by each state, county, city, or local government agency.
What do I have to prove at trial?
At trial, a plaintiff must prove that the school or its employees are responsible for the student’s injuries, and that liability is not waived or subject to immunity. Many school sports require parents to sign some sort of waiver or consent form.
However, some acts cannot be waived, as discussed above. Liability can be proven by showing that an exception to immunity exists, and that some negligence on the part of the school or its employee caused the injury in question.
What is the assumption of the risk doctrine?
Schools will often argue that a student and his or her parents “assume the risk” of any inherent dangers of a sport. This means that injuries that occurred as the natural result of the sport itself are typically not going to create school liability.
However, if the injury resulted from an intentional act of another player outside of the sport, you might have an action against that player. Alternatively, if the injury resulted from an act or omission by the school which is not in the ordinary course of the sport, the school cannot hide behind the assumption of the risk doctrine to avoid liability.
Additional Reading
For more in-depth information, review the following articles:
- State Laws Addressing Youth Sports-Related Traumatic Brain Injury and the Future of Concussion Law and Policy – Journal of Business and Technology.
- Overuse Injuries in Youth Sports: Legal and Social Responsibility – Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport.
- Liability Determination of School Sports Injury Accidents: An Analysis Framework Based on Evolutionary Game – International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
- Legal Analysis of School Sports Injury Accident under the Background of Governing School by Law – Science of Law Journal.
Legal References:
- SafeKids. Sports and Recreation Safety Fact Sheet (2015).
- NCAA. Football Injuries.
- UPMC. Lacrosse Injuries, Treatment, and Prevention Tips.
- Stop Sports Injuries. Preventing Wrestling Injuries.
- Huffington Post. Cheerleading: A Major Cause of Brain Injuries.
- Physioworks. Basketball Injuries.
- See, e.g., California Civil Jury Instructions (“CACI”) 400. See also California Civil Code section 1714(a) (“Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person.”)
- California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) (2017) 1000. Premises Liability. Essential Factual Elements.
- Perez v. Van Groningen & Sons Inc. (1986) 41 Cal.3d 962, 967 (“Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, an employer is vicariously liable for his employee’s torts committed within the scope of the employment.”)
- See California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) Series 1200 — Products Liability.