By Tim Kevan, Barrister, 1 Temple Gardens1
Having been brought up spending those balmy Summer Saturdays following the dreamy world of village cricket on Exmoor the last thing I would have imagined is the brutal world of litigation straying into this far corner of the English countryside. However, clubs and players can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to the risks they now face. In a new book, Sports Personal Injuries, Kevan, Adamson and Cottrell2 point to the numerous potential liabilities facing both sportsmen and their clubs. This coupled with the growth of conditional fees means that the number of sports injury cases in this country is only likely to increase.
In this context cricket is at much at risk as any other sport. Players may be held liable for a one-off ball bowled negligently which injures a batsman. Coaches may be liable for negligent coaching. However, clubs, with their large grounds, perhaps face the greatest risks. These range from the simple tripping and slipping cases by both players and spectators for defects in the ground or clubhouse to accidents which may occur through defective equipment such as practice nets with holes in them.
Clubs also need to be aware of the risks they face with regard to balls being hit out of the ground. For example, in 1977 the Court of Appeal held that the cricketing defendants were both negligent and committing a nuisance every time they hit a ball out of the ground on the particular facts of that case.
The debate will no doubt rage as to whether it is right that the law should be involved in the cricketing world at all. However, whatever people’s views on the subject all need to be thoroughly versed in the risks and insured against the potential consequences.
Given that these risks do not necessarily occur to every person involved in cricket there is a strong case for government intervention in this area and in particular through the introduction of compulsory insurance schemes. In the absence of this, the responsibility rests with governing bodies and leagues to bring in some form of compulsory insurance for their members. However, without any such action, the responsibility ultimately rests with the clubs and the players themselves to make sure they are properly. Without such cover, an uninsured amateur bowler could be bankrupted through a negligent ball delivered to a highly paid banker by the loss of earnings claim alone.
1 Chambers of Geoffrey Nice QC, 1 Temple Gardens, London EC4Y 9BB.
2 Sweet and Maxwell, 2002; www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk
TIM KEVAN is a Barrister at 1 Temple Gardens with expertise in personal injury, credit hire, sports, costs, consumer and internet law. He is a member of the Civil Justice Council’s sub-committee on funding. He is the author of four textbooks: Sports Personal Injury Law, E-mail, the Internet and the Law , Kevan on Credit Hire and A Guide to Credit Hire and Repair. He has also written a number of articles in publications such as The Times, the Journal of Personal Injury Law, the Solicitors' Journal and Counsel Magazine. Contact: Chambers of Geoffrey Nice QC, 1 Temple Gardens, Temple, London EC4Y 9BB.
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