While participating in sports can be a wonderful outlet for children to exercise and learn valuable team-building skills, they can also be dangerous and often facilitate various risk factors that could leave your child injured. If your child was participating in a school-sanctioned sporting game when they were hurt, the school coach may be held liable in some instances. For help identifying the liable cause for your child’s school sports injury case, contact a trusted personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.
The Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP is a team of legal professionals helping clients in New York who have had their children injured while playing a sport for their school. When it comes to sports injuries, many parties may be considered liable for your child’s injuries, including the school coach. To ensure the liable party is held responsible for your child’s injuries after a sporting accident, contact our team of New York personal injury lawyers to get started on building your claim.
Is the School Coach Always Liable for a Child’s Sports Injury?
When you sign your child up to play sports with their school, you put your trust in the coaches and other adults tasked with watching over the players and being ready in the event of an emergency like an injury. However, despite a school coach being the adult that is often physically present when sports injuries occur, when a child is registered to participate in a sport, the parents or legal guardians are typically required to sign a waiver that states that the caregiver assumes the risk of any sports-related injuries that could occur. This means that a school district or school coach is not liable in the event of an injury or accident. However, there are still some circumstances in which a school coach may be found to be liable for a child’s sports injury.
If your child is injured during sport-related events due to the following causes, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against the school coach or other liable parties:
- Unlawful or illegal activity
- Negligence on behalf of supervisors or coaches
- Deliberate and malicious violence from other players
In addition to these situations that may help you build a claim against a school coach or other liable party, you should also consider the New York guidelines for sports-related concussion treatments.
How the New York Concussion Guidelines May Affect Liability
These guidelines detail the correct procedure for coaches, parents, and guardians in the event a child suffers a concussion while playing a sport. If the following guidelines are not adhered to, you may be able to file a claim against the school coach or other supervisors for the resulting injuries and losses your child may have suffered:
- Coaches, parents, and athletes must be educated about the signs of concussions and their potential dangers
- Athletes who may have a concussion must be removed from the game immediately
- Athletes may only return to practice or play after at least 24 hours and after gaining permission from a doctor
If a school coach reinstated your child who suffered a concussion to keep the game going, that coach may be held liable. To get help identifying the liable party in your child’s sports injury case, contact a New York personal injury lawyer to begin gathering the key evidence for your claim.
Get Help From a New York Sports Injury Lawyer as Soon as Possible
The Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP is a New York personal injury law firm dedicated to helping our clients get justice after their children have been injured while playing sports for their schools. Our goal is to provide you with the legal expertise needed to hold the at-fault party responsible for their negligent actions that led to your child’s injury.
To get help with your child’s school sports injury claim, contact our New York firm today at 516-358-6900 or complete our contact form. You can also subscribe to our Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP YouTube Channel to stay up to date on any laws that may impact your New York personal injury case.
