Considering the size and detail of today's high-definition TVs, the best way to capture every moment of a sporting event is probably within the comfort of a living room or sports bar. However, any true sports fan will happily pay high ticket prices to enjoy their favorite games in person, where the spirit and excitement is unparalleled.

Sports fans expect many games to include player injuries, but they do not generally expect dangerous conditions in the stands. The unfortunate truth is that, in spite of safety measures taken at stadiums and other facilities, spectators suffer injuries more often than most people expect.

How Spectator Injuries Happen

Just about every aspect of the spectator experience carries certain risks, such as the following:

• Game-related accidents: In June 2015, a Boston Globe article discussed numerous injuries that were recently sustained by fans at baseball games, hockey matches and auto races. Anything, such as broken bats, hockey pucks or crash debris, can cause severe injuries or even fatalities.
• Slips, trips and falls: Outdoor games can occur in inclement weather, which may include rain or wind events. And given the fact that alcohol may be offered at such events, it may be hard to imagine a game that did not involve any falls in the stands or parking lots.
• Violence: Fights often break out on the playing field, but staunch team supporters are not immune from arguments with fans of the opposition. When these arguments get physical, injuries happen.

Identifying Liability is Not Always Clear-Cut

The stadium owners, team owners and players all have certain obligations concerning the safety of their fans, and the means to compensate injury victims, so it is natural to assume that they may have ultimate responsibility for the safety of visitors to their events. To a large degree, this assumption may be correct. Certainly they need to provide barriers to help prevent spectators from flying objects.

They might even share responsibility for violence in the stands when they do not provide a reasonable degree of security — particularly if a fan is shot because the stadium failed to conduct security checks for all individuals entering the facility.

Still, these considerations do not necessarily remove the responsibility from other visitors or the injury victims since it can be argued that there was a reasonable expectation for them to understand common risks and maneuver with caution.

In fact, language on tickets can place the duty of care on spectators, even in the case of flying objects from the stands. Since the details behind many injuries provide effective arguments against this language, however, it does not automatically prevent injury cases from moving forward.

Injuries sustained at sporting events can involve numerous parties. California law follows a doctrine of pure comparative fault, which means that the degree to which victim negligence contributed to injuries can offset the liability of other parties. To pursue full and fair compensation for a claim, it is important to engage an attorney with the experience needed to unravel a complex maze of liability issues. Call The Rudman Law Firm APC at 844-478-3626 / (844) 4RUDMAN, at our Los Angeles office at 213-375-3777 or at our Studio City office 818-769-6969.