- Date: May 1995
- Victim’s Age: 20
- Victim’s Sex: Male
- Occupation: N/A
- Place: Ontario
- Circumstances: hit in the shoulder by an opponent player
- Injuries sustained: dislocated shoulder
- Compensation: $27,042
Soccer Injury Incident
In May of 1995, a 20-year-old man was playing soccer in a gentlemen’s league when he was seriously injured. The man was chasing down the ball with his opponent. He had gotten the lead but the whistle was blown for a penalty as someone had tried to trip him. After the whistle was blown his opponent who was behind him kept running to catch up to him and hit him in the shoulder with his body. The referee issued a yellow card to his opponent.
Player injury
The hit dislocated the man’s shoulder and he was required to be in a splint for 6 weeks. He then underwent a surgical reconstruction procedure to place a screw in to hold the joint. Less than 24hrs after the surgery he had another surgery as the screw had come loose. Due to the surgeries spent a total of 10 days in the hospital. He made a full recovery however the area around the screw remains tender. He also experiences come discomfort and stiffness in his shoulder.
Liability
The judge found that the opponent had deliberately tried to injure the man as he made no effort to slow down or veer away after the whistle was blown. The judge concluded that the hit after the whistle was not part of the voluntary assumption of risk when playing soccer. Therefore, he found the opponent liable for the man’s injuries.
Compensation for the player
The judge awarded the man $12,042.82 in special damages and $15,000 in general damages.