Football Injury Claims – How Much Compensation Could I Claim?

Football injuries can occur at any level of the game, from grass-roots up to the professional game, and often they can’t be avoided. However, some injuries are caused by violence, recklessness, dangerous equipment, or poorly maintained pitches. Importantly, if you’ve been injured playing football due to somebody else’s negligence, you may be eligible to make a football injury claim for compensation.

In this guide to football injury claims, we’ll explain how the claims process works, when you might be eligible to claim, and how long you’ll have to start a claim. Whether you play Sunday league football for your local pub or whether your child has been injured playing football, we could help you to seek damages.

If you call our personal injury team, you’ll be offered a no-obligation telephone consultation. There’s nothing to lose by calling because you’ll get free legal advice whatever you choose to do. Should making a football injury claim appear viable, one of our personal injury solicitors could be appointed to represent you. You won’t need to worry about paying them upfront because they’ll work on a No Win No Fee basis if your case is accepted.

To start a football injury claim right away, call us on 0800 6524 881. Alternatively, please read the rest of this guide to find out more about claiming compensation for football injuries.

Am I Eligible To Make A Football Injury Claim?

To determine your eligibility for a football injury claim, a personal injury solicitor will need to verify the following:

1. Were you, the claimant, owed a duty of care by the defendant?
2. Did they cause an incident or accident to occur because they were negligent?
3. Were you injured playing football as a direct result of their negligence?

While the concept of duty of care might seem complex, it can apply in various ways. For example, footballers are usually expected to follow a code of conduct to ensure everybody’s safety. Similarly, if you hire a football pitch or training ground, the operator is likely to have a duty of care to ensure it’s safe to play on. Our team can help you establish whether a duty of care existed in your case.

Next, we’ll explain how to gather evidence to support your claim.

Evidence To Support A Football Injury Claim

Here is a list of evidence you could use if you’d like to proceed with a football injury claim:

• Photographic evidence. If your footballing injury was caused by damaged advertising boards at the side of the pitch, try to take photographs before they are removed.
• Medical evidence. You should not rely just on first aid if you’re injured playing football. A trip to A&E or a minor injuries unit will ensure you’re treated correctly. Later on, your medical records could be used as evidence of your injuries.
• Witness details. If there is any doubt over liability for your injuries, your solicitor may need statements from any witnesses to clarify matters.
• Police references. In cases relating to assault during a football game, you’ll need to report the incident to the police. By doing so, you could be eligible to claim compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).
• Video footage. If anybody captured the incident on camera, ask for a copy of their footage.
• Accident report. If the injury happened at a managed football ground or facility (such as a rented football pitch), ask for a copy of any accident report they may have filed. This can help establish the details of the incident.
• Maintenance records. If your injury was caused by a poorly maintained pitch or equipment, evidence such as maintenance or repair records from the facility could support your claim.

If you’ve collected any evidence already, call our advisors and they’ll review it for you for free.

Who Would My Claim Be Against?

It’s not always clear who you could claim compensation from but generally, it will be against:

• An insurance policy that is paid for through your subscription fees.
• The public liability insurance policy held by the pitch operator.
• The CICA scheme if you’ve been assaulted while playing football.

If you’d like us to check that you can make a claim, please get in touch.

Common Footballing Incidents That Could Lead To A Claim

Some example footballing scenarios that might result in a compensation claim include:

• Being injured because of a poorly maintained pitch.
• Bad tackles, including those that are violent or reckless.
• Assaults by other players, officials, or spectators.
• Injuries during training because of poor safety procedures.

Again, football is often a fast-paced game where accidental injuries do occur. Proving liability for your injuries can therefore be tricky. We believe your best chance of doing so is with an experienced personal injury solicitor on your side.

If you’ve been injured at a football stadium as a spectator or staff rather than as a player, please refer to our football stadium accident claims guide.

Common Football Injuries

As you might realise, we can’t tell you about every possible injury that could occur whilst playing professional or amateur football. However, some of the more common include:

Whatever type of injury you’ve sustained whilst playing football, if it was caused by somebody else’s negligence, our solicitors could help you claim compensation.

How Much Compensation For Footballing Injuries?

There is no fixed amount of compensation for football-related injuries, as each case depends on several factors. As a result, it’s difficult to estimate what amount of sports injury compensation shall be awarded without knowing the full details of the case.

In general, however, compensation is based on two types of damages:

• General damages are claimed to cover the pain, suffering, and loss of amenity caused by your injuries. As well as physical pain, mental harm could also be claimed for too.
• Special damages aim to recover any financial losses caused by your injuries. Here you could claim back any lost earnings, travel costs, medical costs, or care costs.

To support your claim, your injuries may need to be assessed by an independent medical expert. As part of the football injury claims process, your solicitor will arrange a local medical assessment where possible.

Football Injury Compensation Calculator

Although we can’t provide settlement estimates for injuries from playing football, you can use our compensation calculator if you’d like a rough idea of payouts for a fairly wide range of injuries.

Even though the figures used are based on what the Judicial College suggest, they are only advisory.

Time Limits For Claiming Football Injury Compensation

As you may know, compensation claims usually have time limits that apply. For football injury claims they are typically:

• 3 years to start a claim from the date you were injured if you’re an adult, or date of knowledge.
• 2 years if claiming through the CICA scheme after being assaulted during a football game.

Importantly, children cannot represent themselves in a personal injury claim. However, if your child was injured while playing youth football due to somebody else’s negligence, this won’t prevent a compensation claim. A parent (or responsible adult) can act as their litigation friend, allowing you to work with solicitors and manage the claim on your child’s behalf. You can do this any time before they turn 18.

Once the court grants permission, the claims process will continue as normal. If a settlement is offered, it must be reviewed by the court (a requirement for child claims, but not adult claims). If the court deems the award fair, the compensation will be held in a court account until the child turns 18. As the litigation friend, you can request payments from the account, provided they benefit the child.

Our advice is to try and start your football injury claim as early as possible. That way, your solicitor will have plenty of time to prepare the case before the time limit runs out.

Do I Need A Solicitor To File A Football Injury Claim?

Generally, any claim you make for a footballing injury will end up with an insurance company (excluding CICA claims). That means you will only receive compensation if you can prove definitively that the defendant’s negligence caused your accident and injuries.

We think it’s much easier to win a claim if you have a personal injury solicitor on your side. If you decide to work with us, and your claim is accepted, your solicitor will:

• Discuss your football injury claim in detail with you to get a full understanding of what happened.
• Secure evidence from various sources to back up your allegations.
• File the claim with the defendant.
• Arrange for a local medical review of your injuries.
• Handle everything on your behalf so you don’t have to answer questions from the insurance company.
• Try to counter any objections or arguments about liability.
• Aim to secure the most compensation possible for your injuries.

Importantly, all of our accident claims solicitors operate on a No Win No Fee basis so there’s nothing to pay upfront.

Starting The Football Injury Claims Process

If you are ready to start the process of making a football injury claim, please call our team on 0800 6524 881 today.

Alternatively, our live chat is available 24/7 to connect with a claims advisor, or you can use a callback form if you’d like a consultation at a more convenient time.

Remember, because of their No Win No Fee service, you’ll only pay your solicitor if your football injury claim is successful and you are compensated.