As South Africans, we love sport. The culture of rugby, soccer and cricket has formed a huge part of our social lives. However, there is a dark side to contact sport as sportsmen or women often sustain severe injuries.
One such athlete was Marti, a promising school hockey player who also had her provincial colours in water polo.
Her life was turned completely upside down after she was clobbered with a hockey stick, and she will never experience the exhilarating feeling of competitive sport again. During a heated school hockey match, the goalie hit Marti on the head twice with her hockey stick.
It was only after the game that she noticed a huge bump on her head. When she returned home that evening, she began to show signs of a severe concussion. She experienced memory loss and headaches.
From that moment onward, her life and the life of her family turned upside down as she endured years of neurological disorders.
The big question on every athlete’s mind is whether or not they can sue their opponent for injuring them. The answer is twofold and the law is very interesting with regards to this matter.
When a sportsman steps onto the rugby field, the hockey field or the cricket pitch, they are in essence consenting to the possibility of an injury. In most cases, there will not be a successful claim for damages.
However, where an injury is sustained due to a flagrant disregard of the rules of the game, there will be a successful monetary claim as the act is wrongful. A good example here is biting or eye gouging in a rugby match.
In Marti’s case, because the knock was deliberate and wrongful, she would have a claim against the goalkeeper who intentionally disregarded the rules.
I think that the moral of the story is that sportswomen and men should always wear protective gear, and obey the rules because when the adrenalin is pumping and the ball starts rolling, anything can happen.
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