Sport participants.

[Rtis]

Arnie isn't complaining ! And as for all the Ex rugby wallahs and Sundry , just getting on the Bandwagon !

[Dunedin]

In my opinion it is as daft as, a mountain climber who falls to his death while climbing Everest and his family sue the government at Nepal because of the ice on the mountain, or because he subscribed to and was a member of a climbing organisation. But only in America does this sort of thing happen. 🙄😅

[Old Pedro]

Good topic to discuss Dunedin. I see this is gathering momentum, and now a group of former rugby union Internationals set to take legal action against Rugby Football Union, World Rugby and the Welsh Rugby Union. With law suits in abundance across the water and now the F.A.ready to deal with a pile of writs I do wonder what the success rate will be bearing in mind 100% of the sportsmen knew they were participating in a contact sport. What contracts did they sign?

When I watched boxing at a young age the boxers did not wear any head protection yet at the Olympics they did?  Yes, different bodies/organisations but the same risks? There is even a team called Arthritis Athletic this year, with former players some of us will remember, Tommy Smith, Peter Osgood and so on suing the F.A. for disabilities linked to the abuse of cortisone injections. If it can be proven the clubs doctors were not qualified, negligent of inefficient then that may start the ball rolling-no pun intended! I think we are talking about hundreds if not thousands of retired footballers that may not even be able to walk properly, let alone dementia or other ailments.

My opinion is no. If negligence can be proven then the Lawyers will find a way, but it will not be "no win-no fee" What next office workers suing their employers for no screen savers, poor seating and the list goes on. My old instructor broke his ankle I seem to recall but he never sued the IKA.

The greed of the Lawyers will force this one forward at some speed now. In the early days the contracts players signed would have been basic, but now even contracts that include waivers if liability may not be enforceable.

[timb]

Nice one! I’m a martyr to mine and have regular sessions with Rhee the osteopath in Arbi. My knees weren’t helped when I learned Red Bull doesn’t give you wings when jumping off a stage after a few too many vodka and red bulls one night a few years ago!

Maybe I should sue them for false advertising lol

[Dunedin]

Interesting point there tmb.
After over 2 decades of heavy training 5 days a week and competitions, I started to get very bad backache so bad. I couldn't get out of bed sometimes. This was 5 years after no longer training. My doctor explained that 5his was because the heavy training had developed muscles in the vertebrae which had now reduced in size due to no longer training had caused gaps between the bones allowing nerves to get trapped. He said a solution would be to return to the weights, which worked 100% after a few weeks. I then took up coaching after being approached by the County Council and have never had backache for over 30 years. 😀

[timb]

100% no. In law there is a Latin phrase that means voluntary assumption of injury. For example if you are in the crowd behind the goal and a player shoots and hits you full in the face the player cannot be sued. He can however if he deliberately hooves the ball into the crowd and somebody gets injured. (Pogba would get away with it cos he’s cr*p lol).

To me they should only be allowed to sue if they can prove negligence fair enough. But dodgy knees and bad backs are a well known possibility from earlier sporting activities. I have both and although I put the problems with my knees down to playing football until I was old enough to should have known better but my back problems are down to have never been shown how to lift weights properly - I think my coach passed 30 years ago!

The issue now with dementia and heading the ball may well be valid but there was no evidence when most were playing so I think it I can’t see any negligence as yet.

[Dunedin]

Should people who play sport that suffer from injuries later in life due to their sporting past be able to claim compensation from the body concerned.?  In my opinion, when you participate you know the risks you take. My 2 sports were competitive weightlifting at national level and martial arts. If I suffered from back injuries in my later life I would consider it was down to me, as I chose my sports as my way of life. There are people coming forward wanting compensation due to their current medical situation cased by their participation in their chosen life.
Is this reasonable.?