Negligence in Sports Injuries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Negligence in Sports Injuries - Essay ExampleWhere sporting events are concerned, the finding of negligence is complicated by the volenti non fit injuria principle, whereby the rudimentary premise is that those who participate in sports knowe the risks that may exist5, are in effect, consenting to a plunder of duty of care and hence negligence claims may not hold good6. For example, in the case of Woolridge v Sumner7 where a spectator was injured, it was held to be the result of an error of judgment rather than negligence. It was also held that liability could be established only when it could be shown that there had been a reckless disregard for the safety of the spectator/s.The apprehension of reckless disregard as laid out by Lord Diplock is inherently based upon the premise that a player acts negligently when he foresees risks and yet proceeds with his actions despite the risk. Reckless disregard hence involves a breach of not only the duty of care owed to prevent a claim of negligence, that also a duty of skill. Thus, in the case of Woolridge, for example, Lord Diplock clarified that when a participant was alert of his lack of skill to perform a sporting feat and the risk his lack of skill powerfulness pose to spectators, he would be guilty of negligence to the spectator, if he still goes ahead and performs the act in question8. As a result, while negligence implies the owing of a duty of care, reckless disregard implies the owing of a duty of care and a duty of skill. Reckless disregard is in essence, negligence apply inwardly a sporting context, with a higher threshold to allow for the inherent risks in sports which players voluntarily assume under the volenti fit non injura principle.Reed, in analyzing the judgment rendered in the case of R v Barnes9 has explained how, within the context of sports, reckless disregard occurs when a player inflicts harm or injury maliciously10. A suspect who is reckless is one who is able to foresee that there i s a risk for bodily harm occurring through and through his actions and yet, chooses to ignore the risk and continue with the offending act. Recklessness implies a greater degree of culpability or wrongdoing than negligence because recklessness amounts to willfully exposing another person to harm and causing injury, rather than it occurring as a result of