Atlanta Sports Accident Lawyer
Sports accidents commonly occur across the nation and the world, even though scientists have gained a greater understanding of the dangers faced by athletes in recent years. It can be difficult to receive compensation for sports related injuries. If you have suffered an injury as a participant or spectator at a sporting event, you should contact an attorney to advise you of your options.
The attorneys at Stokes & Kopitsky, P.A. are respected across the state of George for over 30 years of work as experienced, knowledgeable sports accident attorneys. We have collected damages for medical bills, pain and suffering and more, and our results speak for themselves. We can help you as well.
Sports Accident Statistics
In recent years, we’ve become increasingly aware of the dangers that go along with playing sports. In particular, there’s been a growing awareness of concussions and the dangers of traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from impacts and accidents. There are, however, a range of other kinds of damage that can be sustained from sports incidents. These include spinal cord injuries, soft tissue injuries, bone injuries and more.
Across the nation, over 3.5 million kids and teens are injured while engaging in some sort of sporting activity every year. Among high school athletes, there are roughly 2 million injuries per year. Around 1.5 million adults suffer such incidents, and the total number of injuries has increased, rather than decreased, since the year 2000.
Sports Injury Fatalities
The majority of fatalities associated with sports don’t come from football or baseball. They come from cycling. Head injuries that result from collisions with automobiles are a leading cause of death among sporting activities. Besides cycling, football, and baseball, emergency rooms often see injuries from baseball, softball, water sports, basketball, and powered sport vehicles like ATVs and dirt bikes.
The leading cause of death from these incidents is TBI, or traumatic brain injury, which results from a severe impact to the head. However, paralysis and death can result from spinal injuries, which are also common among athletes.
Contributory Negligence and Liability
The OCGA was modified by Georgia’s General Assembly in 2005. The amendments to §51-12-33 added an element of contributory negligence to the appointment of liability in sports-related injuries. What this means is that now when a lawsuit for a sports injury is filed, juries are required to look at the degree to which the plaintiff may have been at fault before awarding damages.
The important thing to consider is that with sports injuries there is a certain assumption of risk in play. If it is found that the plaintiff knew of the dangers in the activity they were pursuing or were otherwise at least 50% responsible for their own injury, they may not be able to seek damages.
Product Liability and Spectators
Athletes are not the only ones who suffer sporting injuries. Even among athletes, the damages suffered are not always related to normal sporting activities. Product liability claims or liability of the premises are often factors with these incidents.
If a spectator at a sporting event is injured due to a lack of adequate safety measures or a lack of posted warnings to potential dangers, they may be able to seek damages related to premises liability against the property owner. Likewise, an athlete who is injured because the equipment they were using failed in some unexpected way due to a product defect may have a product liability claim for damages.
Atlanta Sports Injury Attorneys
At Stokes & Kopitsky, P.A., we have spent 30 years helping people injured in sports-related incidents to seek recovery for the damages they’ve suffered. If you’re hurt in a sporting accident, the negligent parties should be held accountable.
You may be eligible to receive significant compensation to pay your medical bills, make up for your financial losses and more. Give our experienced Georgia sports injury attorneys a call at 404-892-0011 or drop us a line and get a consultation today for free.
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