Philadelphia Sports Injury Attorneys

Whether you’re a weekend enthusiast or professional athlete, you risk injury when playing your favorite sport. In severe cases, spinal cord injuries can result. All of a sudden, it’s not a game anymore, as you’re looking at medical bills, pain and suffering, and possibly a loss of income.

Sports injuries are unique in the sense that you participate willingly, accepting the possibility that you may be hurt. Pennsylvania law does account for this assumption of risk, but the legal theory doesn’t always prevent you from recovering compensation for your losses. The attorneys at Cohen, Placitella, & Roth, P.C. in Philadelphia have represented many clients suffering from spinal cord injuries due to a sports incident. The key is identifying reckless or intentional conduct that may have been involved.

Assumption of the Risk in Spinal Cord Sports Injuries

When you are a willing participant in an activity that carries a threat of injury by its nature, the law will not allow you to recover for a spinal cord injury due to negligence. This theory applies when playing a sport, holding that you’ve assumed the risk of an injury – even when someone else’s negligence was a factor. However, if a person’s actions were reckless or intentional, assumption of the risk does not apply and recovery may still be possible.

Reckless or Intentional Conduct

If you can prove that a person acted recklessly or intentionally in a sports competition, you may be able to recover damages for a spinal cord injury.

• Intentional Acts: Where someone has acted willfully and this conduct leads to your injuries, you are entitled to compensation under Pennsylvania law. Willfulness goes beyond knowledge of the risk that you may be injured: It means that individual intended to cause you harm. Punitive damages may be awarded in an intentional personal injury case, which are damages intended to financially punish the perpetrator.
• Recklessness: When there is more than simple negligence involved, the conduct may qualify as being reckless. Recklessness means that the person knew or should have known that an act would cause harm – but he or she acted anyway, causing your spinal cord injury. In a sports injury, reckless conduct might be carrying equipment that could cause harm to another participant. For example, a person playing basketball with a knife in his or her pocket should know that an injury could result from coming into contact with another player.

Trust a Philadelphia Attorney to Fight Your Sports-Related Spinal Cord Injury

There are inherent risks playing any sport, but you may be able to obtain compensation for damages when a spinal cord injury occurs due to the reckless or intentional conduct of another participant. The key to recovering losses lies in the proof, and only a knowledgeable spinal cord injury has the experience necessary to win your case. If you’ve suffered a spinal cord injury due from a sports incident, please contact Cohen, Placitella, & Roth, P.C. Attorneys at Law. We’re happy to schedule a free consultation at our conveniently located offices in Philadelphia.