Sports litigation a 'growing trend'

Recent court cases may encourage players and referees to give up sport rather than leave themselves open to litigation, a legal conference has been told.

Barrister Dr Neville Cox said there was a growing trend for professional and amateur athletes to sue other participants, coaches, supporters, organisers, stadium owners and governing bodies for alleged negligence.

This was happening in an area where going to the courts was traditionally viewed as "an unsporting solution to a sporting problem", he told a conference on tort law in the law school of Trinity College Dublin yesterday.

Dr Cox linked the growing litigation in the area to the professionalisation of sport and the vast sums of money earned by successful athletes.

The trend highlighted the need to ensure that sports are played safely. "The moral of the story for referees therefore is simple. It is vital that they familiarise themselves with safety rules and apply them strictly and irrespective of the impact on the playing of the game. Doing so will almost certainly shield against liability."

He predicted that a case recently decided in the English court of appeal could have very serious repercussions for the playing of sport in Ireland. In Vowles v. Evans & WRFU, a Welsh rugby player was severely injured while playing as a hooker in an amateur match. He had little experience of the position, having deputised for an injured colleague earlier in the match.

The British courts found that the referee had acted negligently in his failure to apply clear and unambiguous rules of the game that were designed in the interest of player safety.

Prof William Binchy of TCD said a new political and social climate was impacting on the law of torts. Hostility was growing to the old "compensation culture".

Politicians were now introducing radical changes designed to reduce insurance premiums by reducing the entitlements of injured plaintiffs.

"The Personal Injuries Assessment Board is not the last word. It seems that a range of strategies is in contemplation, including shortening the limitation period for personal injury litigation."

A decade ago, such proposals would have resulted in a serious confrontation between the Oireachtas and the courts, Prof Binchy said. However, today, the Supreme Court was more willing to defer significantly to politicians on the socio-economic agenda.