Extreme sports by their very nature carry significant risks of injury, including potentially catastrophic spinal cord injuries that can leave athletes paralyzed and facing huge medical bills along with loss of income. Understanding the legal rights and options for compensation after a spinal cord injury in extreme sports like mountaineering and skydiving is crucial.
Causes and Types of Spinal Cord Injuries in Extreme Sports
The high speeds, aerial maneuvers, and degree of physical contact involved in many extreme sports makes them prone to serious spinal cord trauma. Common causes include:
- Hard landings or crashes in events like motocross, BMX, skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing, and mountain biking can cause fractured or dislocated vertebrae, crushed discs, or direct injury to the spinal cord.
- “Blow-up” wipeouts from big wave surfing or waterskiing crashes can slam athletes into the water or ocean floor, damaging vertebrae and spinal nerves.
- Headfirst dives into shallow water can lead to cervical fractures and spinal contusions.
- Full or partial spinal cord contusions, lacerations, avulsions, and chronic spinal cord compressions are common extreme sport spinal injuries. Complete paralysis below the injury is possible.
Legal Options for Pursuing Compensation
Athletes severely injured due to negligence or reckless endangerment during extreme sports events may have grounds for legal action. Potential options include:
Personal Injury Lawsuits
Filing a personal injury lawsuit against third parties like event organizers, venue owners, equipment manufacturers or sponsors is one avenue for recouping costs. Winning requires proving:
- Negligence – organizers failed to take reasonable safety precautions, contributing directly to the injury.
- Product liability – faulty gear or equipment contributed to the accident.
- Recklessness – third parties deliberately ignored risks or encouraged unduly dangerous behavior contributing to the injury.
Building a strong personal injury case requires extensive evidence gathering and legal preparation. Key steps include:
- Collecting medical records, bills, and expert testimony documenting the extent of injuries and prognosis.
- Gathering evidence like videos, photos, witness statements, and documents to establish negligence.
- Proving long term income loss based on expert vocational assessments and actuarial calculations.
- Establishing a lifetime care plan detailing required medical treatments and assistive devices.
- Retaining reputable personal injury attorneys, medical experts, vocational analysts, and actuaries to demonstrate damages.
- Sending demand letters to defendants detailing liability arguments and settlement offers.
- Skillfully negotiating an appropriate settlement or proceeding to trial if offers are inadequate.
Winning substantial settlements for catastrophic spinal cord injuries requires demonstrating considerable economic and non-economic damages to justify multimillion dollar payouts.
Workers’ Compensation Claims
Athletes paid for participating in events or under sponsorship contracts may qualify for workers’ compensation, which covers medical treatment and partial wage reimbursement for injuries suffered on the job. Payouts are typically lower than personal injury settlements but have a better chance of success.
To receive workers’ compensation benefits:
- File a claim with the state workers compensation board promptly after injury.
- Submit evidence showing that engagement in extreme sports was part of employment duties. Signed contracts often help establish proof.
- Provide all medical records and costs related to injury and treatment. Ongoing access to healthcare is provided.
- Comply with board evaluations of level of permanent disability to determine indemnity payouts. Spinal injuries typically rank among the highest disability levels.
- Attend all hearings and respond to information requests from the compensation board. Legal assistance can be beneficial.
- Accept the board’s final settlement decision or appeal if unfairly low. Settlements may be paid out weekly or lump sum.
Disability Benefits
Those facing long term disability can apply for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. Average monthly payouts are around $1,500. To qualify:
- Submit extensive medical evidence proving an inability to perform any gainful employment. Total paralysis will readily meet disability standards.
- Provide work history and income documentation to determine monthly benefit amounts. Higher past wages increase payouts.
- Undergo disability and functional capacity evaluations by Social Security Administration physicians.
- Appeal initially denied claims, which occur frequently. Legal help improves approval odds. Benefits continue until recovery or retirement age.
Veterans severely disabled in extreme sports accidents can claim VA disability benefits including pension, aid/attendance allowance, and medical expense reimbursement. The VA disability process involves:
- Filing a claim at a VA regional office and undergoing C&P exams to document disabilities.
- Receiving a rating between 0% – 100% disabled. Spinal cord injuries typically rate high. Higher ratings give bigger benefits.
- Submitting evidence of disabilities and their impact on functioning throughout the process.
- Receiving a decision letter approving or denying benefits. Denials should be appealed with legal assistance.
- For approved claims, benefits are paid monthly and reevaluated periodically. Concurrent retirement pay is possible.
Financial Support through Sport Organizations
Some extreme sports leagues and associations offer disability benefits and financial assistance programs to seriously injured athletes. Payouts are variable and benefits negotiated individually. For example, the NFL’s 88 Plan provides up to $100,000 annually to former players with neurocognitive disabilities like paralysis arising from spinal cord injuries.
Key Factors in Determining Compensation
The ultimate compensation achieved by injured extreme sport athletes depends on proving negligence and demonstrating the impact of disabilities. Key factors include:
- Liability – clear evidence of responsibility and negligence by third parties often increases settlement size. Waivers signed at events can weaken liability.
- Medical evidence – documentation of injuries, treatment costs, prognosis, and future medical needs drives up potential damages. Catastrophic spinal injuries requiring lifetime care warrant higher compensation.
- Lost income – documentation of past and future income loss due to diminished ability to compete or work. Younger athletes have higher lifetime earning losses.
- Insurance coverage – the assets and insurance policies of responsible third parties determine how much they can realistically pay out in compensation. Higher coverage allows bigger settlements.
- Legal representation – experienced personal injury attorneys increase your odds of winning and maximizing compensation.
Non-economic damages like pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, and emotional distress are also considered when calculating personal injury settlements. While harder to quantify, catastrophic injuries like paraplegia or quadriplegia support much higher awards for these intangible impacts.
Settlement sizes ultimately come down to skillful negotiation and what responsible parties are willing or able to pay, balanced against proving justification for maximum damages. Multi-million-dollar settlement amounts are common for extreme sports spinal cord injuries leading to permanent paralysis.
Long Road to Recovery
The road to recovery after a catastrophic spinal cord injury sustained in extreme sports is daunting, both physically and financially, but with proper financial support and access to quality medical care, paralyzed athletes can begin the difficult journey towards adapting and rebuilding their lives.
If you have suffered a spinal injury in an accident, get in touch with us today. Visit our office at 422 Jacksonville Dr. Suite B, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250.
Call us today for a free consultation on (904) 587-4446.
