Sports & Recreation Injuries

San Francisco Sports Injury Attorney

Californians of all ages participate in numerous sporting activities in our cities, parks, gyms, clubs, playgrounds, forests, mountains, and waterways. When equipment or vehicles malfunction or when another’s recklessness or negligence leads to an accident, the resulting sports injury can be serious or even deadly.

Visit our informational SPORTS INJURY web site

If you have suffered a serious injury, contact a San Francisco sports injury lawyer at Abramson Smith Waldsmith, LLP. We seek your full and fair medical and economic compensation for all serious injuries and resulting disabilities, including spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, paralysis, or loss of cognitive functioning.

Our experienced trial attorneys represent plaintiffs who were injured due to a defective product or another's negligence. Accidents may involve bicycles, motorcycles, water skis, scooters, golf carts, or chair lifts. Activities may take place on a golf course, driving range, or include snow skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, swimming, boating, diving, scuba diving, parasailing or riding motocross.

Assumption of risk is a factor in all sports injury cases. A plaintiff assumes the known risk of the dangerous condition that caused the injury. For instance, a skier assumes the inherent risk of colliding with another skier. There is no duty to protect a skier from that risk. When risk is increased beyond risks inherent in a particular sport, such as when a trail leading to a cliff is not properly marked by a ski facility, the duty of care is breached. In such cases, it is important to consult an attorney as soon as possible to get an early investigation started because conditions can change.

It is also common that injured athletes have signed releases or waivers or liability to participate in the sporting activity. Do NOT assume that just because you have signed one of these forms you do not have a case. The law strictly interprets these agreements against the person or entity that made you sign it. You might also find that not all of the potential defendants were expressly named in the release and, if not, there may not be enough general categories of defendants listed that include the person or entity you want to sue. The law requires that the release specify the legal theories being released or waived so references to "any and all liability" are insufficient because they are too broad and vague. In addition to legal interpretation, there are several other ways to defeat a release or waiver of liability. They often release liability for negligence but gross negligence, recklessness and misrepresentation theories may be sufficient to overcome or invalidate the release or waiver.

On July 17, 2007 the California Supreme Court issued a landmark case that affects liability releases and waivers in sports and recreational cases. The name of the case is City of Santa Barbara v. Superior Court. The Court held that as a matter of public policy, liability releases and waivers for negligence do NOT also release grossly negligent conduct. In other words, if you have signed a release or waiver for yourself or your child, you still have a chance to overcome it by proving gross negligence. The Court defined "gross negligence" as follows: (1) a want of even scant care or, (2) an extreme departure from the ordinary standard of conduct. This decision clarifies something that we felt was already the law on the subject.

We also have successfully litigated against public and private building owners and insurers of unsafe recreational properties, including parks and playgrounds, health clubs, amusement parks, and swimming pools.

To read an article on the topics of waivers and releases, click here.

Swimming Pool Accidents

Swimming pools, including those for the popular sports of water polo, diving, and synchronized swimming, are a limited resource in the area and in great demand. When overcrowded, the safety management of pools is critical.

A lawsuit from one of our clients against the City of Walnut Creek resulted in a $27.75 million verdict—the largest in the history of the county—for a 20-year-old state diving champion. He was rendered quadriplegic when he collided with a synchronized swimmer during diving practice in a public pool. The City of Walnut Creek, owner and operator of the pool, rented its dive pool to a diving team and a synchronized swimming team to hold practices at the same time without any means of separating the two inconsistent uses. The diver did not see a 15-year-old synchronized swimmer push off the wall under the diving board toward his landing area just as he began his dive. The pool now uses floating lane lines to separate the two groups.

Your signing a release form does not necessarily mean you have waived your rights to safety. Contact us today for skilled, knowledgeable legal counsel.