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SPORTS ACCIDENTS


Personal Injury Lawyer Reviewing Cases for injured plaintiffs Nationwide
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Sports Injury Lawyer

Sports injuries are extremely common across the nation. While most athletic injuries are simply just accidental, others may be due to defective sports equipment or negligent supervisors and property managers. Sports-related injuries account for about 3.2 million visits to hospitals each year, with about 775,000 children treated in hospital emergency rooms.

If you suspect any sports injury is due to unsafe property, negligent individuals or product defects, it is critical to contact a sports injury lawyer to investigate the root cause of an accident and injury. It is also important to preserve any physical evidence and take photographs of the accident scene when possible.

Joe Lyon is a highly-rated product liability attorney and sports injury lawyer investigating injuries related to defective sports equipment and representing plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits nationwide.

Common Sports Injuries

There is a growing incidence of traumatic brain injury among athletes, and Ohio enacted a “Return to Play” law, which requires coaches to pull players out of a game or practice if they show any symptoms of a concussion. Other common injuries may include:

Defective Sports Equipment & Sporting Hazards


Football Concussions & ALS


Sports concussions are more dangerous than previously thought. A former student and football player from the California University of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit against the NCAA for injuries sustained while playing college football which he believes led to his diagnosis of ALS. Matthew Onyshko alleges that the NCAA should have tried to prevent the concussions he suffered during his career as a student athlete.

According to a recent article published in Neurology magazine, college athletes will experience ‘white-matter’ changes, even if they do not suffer concussions. The study suggests that these changes “may have some significance” in terms of effecting verbal learning  and memory.

The NCAA claims that there is no connection between the ALS diagnosis and the organization stating that the NCAA continues to ensure the safety of its football players through product safety testing.

The liability of serious head injuries is not always clear. However, victims and their attorneys argue that sports equipment manufacturers fail to properly warn players of the risks, and schools and doctors may be concealing important safety information, endangering any student involved in contact sports.

There has been much publicity over the class action concussion lawsuit brought on behalf of former NFL players, College athletes, and NHL players. Now, the issue had been raised at the high school level, where minors have been exposed to the same type of head trauma subject to post-concussive syndrome, CTE and long-term memory loss.


School Liability Lawsuits


Daniel Bukal, who played for Notre Dame College Prep school, sued the Illinois High School Association for failing to have policies in place that would minimize the types of side effects he sustained due to his concussion injuries in high school. Schools are generals immune for general negligence claims.

However, where the school increases the risk of danger and fails to implement appropriate safety policy in light of evidence of a significant risk, the school may be liable under Ohio law. The standard is a higher standard of recklessness or gross negligence, which requires evidence the school knew of the danger and ignored it thereby increasing the risk.

The lawsuit here argues that the school and athletic association failed to implement a policy to evaluate at what point players should be allowed to return to the field if and when they sustain certain injuries. The lawsuit further alleges the athletic association failed to require schools to conduct any baseline testing for concussions before and during the season.

Finally, the association allegedly failed to have professional medical personnel present on the field during football games to make more appropriate calls regarding players who are injured.

In combination, and with the knowledge of the dangers of concussions and frequency of an Football Head Injuries suffering a high school sports concussion, the conduct could rise to the level of recklessness to meet an immunity exception.


Contact a Sports Injury Lawyer


Athletes assume certain inherent risks of injury, but that does not include claims where injury was caused by someone’s recklessness or a product defect that directly caused an accident and injury.

Even though an injury release form may have been signed, there can be exceptions when injuries happen as a result of negligence. This can include a negligent coach, unsafe gear provided, improper supervision, poor training, inadequate medical care, or unsafe athletic premises.

Compensation may be recovered for plaintiffs for past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, as well as punitive damages against a negligent manufacturer of sports equipment for a blatant disregard for the safety of consumers.

CONTACT THE LYON FIRM TODAY

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ABOUT THE LYON FIRM

Joseph Lyon has 17 years of experience representing individuals in complex litigation matters. He has represented individuals in every state against many of the largest companies in the world.

The Firm focuses on single-event civil cases and class actions involving corporate neglect & fraud, toxic exposure, product defects & recalls, medical malpractice, and invasion of privacy.

NO COST UNLESS WE WIN

The Firm offers contingency fees, advancing all costs of the litigation, and accepting the full financial risk, allowing our clients full access to the legal system while reducing the financial stress while they focus on their healthcare and financial needs.

photo of attorney Joe Lyon
A Voice for Those who have suffered

Why are these cases important?

Serious injuries and accidents often result through no fault of the injured party, yet the injured victim suffers from life altering physical, mental and financial losses. Such economic and human losses can have devastating financial consequences on individuals and families if not properly compensated. Tort law allows those individuals to seek just legal recourse through personal injury lawsuits.

CONTACT THE LYON FIRM TODAY

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Questions about Personal Injury Cases

What is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Any kind of negligence by an individual or company that causes injury or harm can lead to filing a personal injury lawsuit. The amount a plaintiff is entitled to depends on several factors, particularly how egregious the act and how serious the injury.

Personal injury attorneys generally only will take cases on a confidential and contingency fee basis, which means your lawyer will only get paid if he or she is able to reach a settlement or positive verdict. The Lyon Firm will review your case for free and assess what compensation any plaintiff can expect through litigation.

Personal Injury cases can range from minor auto accidents to complex lawsuits filed against large corporations. The Lyon Firm has handled both with equal care. Severe injury requires legal action on occasion, no matter if the injury is the result of a vehicle accident, a dog bite, a boating accident, workplace injury, defective consumer products, medical malpractice, or toxic exposure.

What is the Process?

Pre-Suit Investigation and Negotiations: Personal injury lawsuits are unique and require a thorough investigation before a lawsuit is filed. An initial investigation involves gathering all relevant medical records, accident reports, and interviews with available witnesses.  Preservation letters are drafted to notify the defendant of the case. The duty to preserve electronic evidence is critical in most cases to prevent spoliation.

Filing a Lawsuit in Cincinnati: If pre-suit negotiations are unsuccessful, then a lawsuit must be filed to preserve the statute of limitations.  Filing a lawsuit early in the process is often necessary to begin gathering evidence while the witnesses memories are fresh and documents remain available.

Once suit is filed by your personal injury lawyer, the court will set a case management schedule and the parties will begin exchanging information in the formal process of discovery. Depositions will be taken to preserve testimony for trial and to understand what certain witnesses are likely to say at trial.

Proving Negligence, Causation and Damages: In addition to lay witness testimony and other documentary evidence, personal injury claims rely upon medical and scientific evidence to prove negligence, causation and damages. The chosen expert in a case must have a reliable and sound basis in science and in the facts of the case or his opinion may not be admissible under the rules of evidence.

In the areas of Toxic and Environmental Torts, the admission of expert testimony may be scrutinized harder than in other areas simply because the subject may not have been as widely tested and may rest on novel scientific theories.

Are there any limits to what I can recover?

Each state will vary. Under Ohio law, an injured party may recover damages related to medical expenses, lost wages, property damage, loss of enjoyment of life, past pain and suffering, future pain and suffering, and punitive damages. The numerical limits are as such:

  1. Non-Catastrophic Injury:   The non-economic award is limited to $250,000 per plaintiff, or three times the economic loss, up to $350,000 per plaintiff. A maximum of $500,000 for each “occurrence.”
  2. Catastrophic Injury: No limits.

The Lyon Firm may be able to file injury claims and recover rightful compensation for clients for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost earnings and long-term disability.

Our Victories

The Lyon Firm aggressively, professionally, and passionately advocates for injured individuals and families against negligent individuals or companies to obtain just compensation under the law. 

$1,000,000

WRONGFUL DEATH: DISTRACTED DRIVER

(Brown County, Kentucky):   The Lyon Firm was second chair a case involving a driver texting and driving when he crossed the median, killing a father of four. The case was resolved once discovery confirmed the cell phone records proved the texting-related incident. The settlement will pay for the surviving childrens’ education. The driver was likely facing additional criminal charges at the time of the settlement.

$495,000

MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT

(Cincinnati, Ohio):  The Lyon Firm was lead counsel in a $495,000 settlement. This case involved a motorcycle operator who sustained fractures of the calcaneus, talus, medial cuneiform, tarsal bones, and tarsometatarsal when a car ignored its driving lane and crossed into his right-of-way. Settlement provided repayment of medical bills of $20,000 and funds for future education to re-enter the work force in a less physically-demanding job.