Understanding Liability in Sports Injuries: Oklahoma
Can Individuals Be Liable for Sports Injuries and the Role of Assumption of Risk in Oklahoma?
I’m Tulsa personal injury lawyer Mike Ashworth. Today we’re going to talk about a great American pastime, an Oklahoma pastime, that is sports. We love our sports in this country, and we love our sports in this part of the country. Can someone be sued for their participation in a sport if something happens? The answer is yes. And the answer is sometimes no.
Let’s give an example. You have a situation, and this is an actual case, an Oklahoma case reported by the courts that I read today on another matter. You have two 18-year-olds that participate in a BB gun war, kind of the precursor to paintball for those who are old like me. And basically the rules are that you have to sign and acknowledge are you may not aim above the waist, you may only pump the weapon, if it’s a pump BB gun, three times to reduce the velocity potential, and you cannot shoot your opponent when they are in a concealed position. There’s a good reason for that because you may not be able to tell whether their waist is or is not.
In this particular case, what happened was one of the participants who had signed these documents was shot in the eye, and the other individual did not intend to shoot them in the eye, but it was mis-aimed and violated the rules. There was a lawsuit brought. What happened? Well, the lawsuit was kicked out eventually by the appellate court saying you assumed the risk of harm by participating in this activity. You knew it was risky, you knew there were rules of conduct, and you knew that sometimes games are dangerous.
When Can a Sports Injury Lead to Liability?
What’s another example where there could be a sports injury that is, in fact, successful in a lawsuit? Well, let’s say, for example, I’m playing Lawyers League softball, and I’m sitting there at, it’s the Lawyers League, it’s so-and-so law firm versus so-and-so law firm, and I’m sitting there with my bat, getting ready to try to swing and hit. And I swing and hit, and I’m running to the base, and I have just simply dropped my bat. That’s normal, that’s part and custom of the game where I may carry the bat a few feet, but I don’t, I’ll toss it aside.
Now, what happens if I get really, really upset? Now, there was a pitcher several years ago, Clemens, that did something like this. What happens if I have that bat, and I just sit there, and I hurl it, and it goes into the stands, and it hits a five-year-old drinking a Coke, or anybody? Can I be sued? Can I be liable for that? The answer is absolutely. That is not normal. That is not the custom and practice of the game. It’s not proper. It’s inherently dangerous to hurl a large piece of wood or a large piece of aluminum at high speed into an unsuspecting stand that is not expecting to receive anything coming at them, except maybe an occasional foul ball.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer for Sports Injury Cases
So if you receive an injury as a result of sporting participation, you need someone that’s an experienced negligence attorney. I’ve been doing this for 40 years. Not civil law, but I was a prosecutor for half of my career. But give me, a personal injury attorney in Oklahoma, a call at TulsaPersonalInjuryLawyer.Pro, 918-924-5528, and we’ll see if we can get you squared away.
