No Win, No FeeAlthough cricket is a non-contact sport and might be perceived as a more gentle pastime than some other sports, cricketing accidents and injuries do occur. Because of the equipment involved in cricket (bats, balls, stumps etc), cricket injuries can be quite serious and cause long-term problems. Cricket injuries caused by someone else’s negligence could entitle you to claim compensation. As such, we’ve written this article on cricket injury compensation claims to show you the types of accidents and injuries you could claim for.
We also offer free legal advice if you call us for an initial consultation. During the telephone call, your case will be examined by the specialist and they’ll offer free legal advice. If it appears that you should receive compensation for your cricketing injury, we’ll partner you with a personal injury solicitor from our panel. They’ll provide a No Win, No Fee service if the claim is taken on which means you’ll never pay legal fees unless compensation is awarded.
You’ll find more about cricket injury compensation claims throughout this article or you can call 0800 652 1345 now to speak with a specialist.
Can I claim compensation for a cricketing injury?
If you ask a personal injury lawyer to take on your cricket injury claim, they’ll usually want to see proof that:
- You were owed a legal duty of care by the party you’re claiming against (the defendant); and
- A cricketing accident or incident occurred as a result of the defendant’s negligence; and
- You sustained an injury or injuries because of that accident.
Of course, you won’t likely be compensated if it’s just a matter of ‘your word against theirs’. As such, you’ll need proof to support your claim and we’ll explain what steps you can take to secure it later on in this article.
Who are cricket injury compensation claims made against?
It can be quite hard to determine who is to blame for your cricket injury. That’s one of the first things we’ll try to establish during your initial assessment. Generally, cricket injury compensation claims would be made against:
- The cricket club if you were injured because of faulty, damaged or poorly maintained equipment.
- The owner or occupier of the cricket ground if your injuries were sustained due to an unsafe playing surface or debris (glass, cans etc) on the cricket pitch.
- Individuals if your injuries were caused by reckless play or violence.
If you’d like us to check who you should claim against, please get in touch. There’s no obligation to lodge a claim but we’ll provide free legal advice no matter what you decide to do next.
Common injuries from playing cricket
Effectively, you could be entitled to claim compensation for any cricketing injuries caused by someone else’s negligence. That means you could claim for minor injuries such as cuts, sprains, strains, bruising and soft tissue injuries as well as more serious injury claims like:
- Broken bones.
- Head injuries and bad concussions.
- Torn ligaments.
- Hamstring injuries.
- Eye injuries.
Even if your cricket injury isn’t included in our list, please feel free to call. As part of your free initial consultation, we’ll review your claim with you and advise you about your options.
Common causes of cricket injury claims
No matter how serious your injury is, you can only claim compensation if it was caused by negligence.
You could therefore be entitled to claim compensation for cricket-related injuries caused by:
- Damaged, faulty or poorly maintained equipment on the pitch, in the nets or in the clubhouse.
- Being told to face pace bowlers without pads, gloves or a box.
- Poor coaching advice.
- Violence by spectators or opposing players.
- Negligent treatment if you do sustain an injury.
- Negligent umpiring.
If you believe you’ve sustained an injury while playing cricket that could’ve been avoided, please let us know. We could help you start a claim with one of our No Win, No Fee solicitors.
Can I claim if I was injured watching a cricket match?
The owner or occupier of a cricket club, field, or pitch has a responsibility to ensure the safety of all spectators attending cricket matches That means that care should be taken to try and keep all spectators as safe as possible.
If you’ve been injured at a cricket game, you could claim compensation if the injury was caused by:
- A trip hazard in the clubhouse, car park or seating area i.e. slippery floors or potholes.
- Being injured by another fan who was allowed to drink too much alcohol and knocked you over.
- Being cut or having your fingers trapped in damaged seating.
- Suffering food poisoning after eating undercooked food sold at the match.
If you’ve suffered these or any other injuries while watching a cricket match, please call to see if we could help you to start a claim.
Child cricket injury claims
Children are not able to lodge a personal injury claim until they turn 18 years of age. However, you could claim compensation for them if they’ve suffered a cricketing injury before then if you become their litigation friend. This process allows a responsible adult to instruct a solicitor on the child’s behalf so that compensation can be claimed when it’s needed rather than later in life. Our solicitors can help with this process.
Reasons, why your child might be compensated for cricket injuries, include:
- Lack of supervision while playing cricket at school.
- Poor coaching advice.
- Not being given protective equipment while playing cricket.
If you do decide to represent your child and the claim is successful, the settlement amount will be placed in a court trust account until their 18th birthday. However, as a litigation friend, you’ll be able to request that funds are released as needed.
How much compensation for cricket-related injuries?
Whether your cricket injury compensation claim is for minor injuries that you’ve already recovered from or a serious injury that will affect you permanently, you should look closely at how you’ve been affected overall before your claim is lodged to ensure you receive an appropriate settlement.
If you win a cricket injury claim, damages could be awarded to cover:
- Physical pain and suffering.
- Lost income.
- Distress, depression and other types of psychiatric injuries.
- Fuel, parking and other travel costs linked to medical appointments for example.
- The cost of a carer if your cricket injury meant you needed someone to help you whilst injured.
- Private hospital treatment and other medical expenses.
- Future reduction in earnings for longer-term cricketing injuries.
- Home and vehicle modifications to help you cope with any form of ongoing disability.
- Loss of enjoyment of cricket and other activities affected by your injuries.
A solicitor on our panel will go through everything with you before your cricket injury claim is filed so that any compensation you’re awarded covers all of your suffering.
Providing proof for cricket injury compensation claims
Whoever you’re suing for your cricketing injuries, you’ll probably find that they’ve passed the claim on to their liability insurance provider. That means you’ll only receive compensation if you can prove to the insurer that the defendant was to blame for the accident and your injuries were sustained in the accident.
As such, if you are injured at a cricket match, you should try to:
- Take photographs. If there was an obvious cause of your cricketing injury, try to take pictures of it before it’s repaired, replaced or removed. Also, take photographs of any visible injuries periodically.
- Report the accident. You should ensure the organiser of the cricket match or training session is aware of the accident. They should make a note of it in their accident report book. Your solicitor could request a copy to help prove the date and location of your accident.
- Seek medical attention. Even if you received first aid at the time you were injured at the cricket match, you should visit your GP or a hospital for a proper diagnosis. Later on, your solicitor will ask for a copy of any X-rays, scans and medical notes to help prove the extent of your injuries.
- Speak to witnesses. If there were witnesses to your accident, ask them for their contact details. If needed, your solicitor will contact them for a statement about the events leading up to the accident.
- Secure video footage. If anyone was recording the game at the time you were injured, ask for a copy of the relevant data.
- Keep financial records. To help recoup any costs incurred as a result of your cricket injuries, send your solicitor a copy of any receipts, bank statements or wage slips.
You don’t need to have everything listed above but the more you have the better. If your claim is taken on, your solicitor will work hard to secure any more information they need to support your claim.
Cricket injury claim time limits
As you might already know, there is a 3-year limitation period for sports injury claims. For cricketing injuries, whether you’re a cricketer, an umpire or a spectator, your time limit will usually begin from the date of the cricket match at which you were injured. However, if you’ve suffered an injury not immediately apparent, the time limit might begin from when it was diagnosed. One exception to this rule is if a child has been injured on a cricket pitch. As they can’t start their own claim until their 18th birthday, parents and guardians are able to take action on the child’s behalf at any time before then.
Your solicitor will need to do some investigation and gathering of proof before they can file your claim. For these reasons, it’s probably a good idea to begin your cricket injury claim sooner rather than later.
Also, starting early may help you to cope with any immediate costs like medical expenses, care costs or lost earnings. That’s because you could be awarded interim payments before the claim has been settled and the defendant has already accepted liability for your injuries. If this is something that’d help you, speak to our team today.
No Win, No Fee claims
In our opinion, you have a better chance of winning your claim and receiving a fair amount of compensation if you’re represented by a specialist solicitor. However, we also know that the cost of legal fees can be off-putting for many. For that reason, cricket injury claims accepted by our solicitors are managed on a No Win, No Fee basis.
If your claim is taken on, your solicitor’s work will be funded by a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means you won’t pay any legal fees upfront and once the CFA is signed, work on your claim will start right away. Your solicitor will:
- Inform the defendant that you’ll be claiming.
- Collect the proof and medical information needed to support the claim.
- Fight your corner and attempt to counter any objections raised by the defendant.
- Keep you informed about how the claim is progressing.
If a compensation offer is made, it will be reviewed thoroughly with you to check that it covers all of your needs.
If your solicitor wins compensation for you, they’ll deduct a success fee from it to cover their costs. When using a CFA to fund your solicitor’s work, the maximum success fee is 25 per cent of your damages. No Win, No Fee means that if the claim is lost, you don’t have to pay any legal fees whatsoever.
Start a cricket injury compensation claim today
If you have sustained a cricket-related injury and believe it’s time to take action, call us on 0800 652 1345 to start the ball rolling. One of our friendly advisors will answer your questions and offer free legal advice about your chances of being compensated.
If one of our solicitors believes your claim has a decent chance of success, they’ll take you on as a client and represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis. That will reduce your financial risks and should mean you’ll find the whole claims process much less stressful.
For further advice on cricket injury compensation claims, please call or connect to our live chat service or claim your free consultation here.
