LIABILITY FOR SPORTS INJURIES IN ITALY

In Italy, sportspersons can be held liable for injuries that they cause to others on the field of play under civil and criminal law.

As regards civil liability, sportspersons may face claims from other sportspersons for damages, that is, financial compensation, caused by malicious, fraudulent or negligent acts in the course of sports events. Such claims in professional sports, depending upon the injuries sustained, may amount to substantial sums of money, including loss of earnings.

However, sportspersons will not be legally liable for such claims where they acted within the acceptable risks of the sports concerned. This is even the case where they, in fact, broke the rules of the game.

As regards criminal liability, sportspersons may be held responsible where their actions:

• go beyond the rules of the game;
• are malicious and deliberately deviate from those rules; and
• are negligent and outside the acceptable risks for the sports concerned.

In assessing any criminal liability, the Italian Courts take into account several factors, including:

• the nature of the sport;
• the risk of injury;
• the level of play;
• the nature of the act;
• the force used; and
• the offenders’ state of mind.

It should be added that the organisers of sports events are also legally liable for ensuring the safety of sportspersons taking part in their events. They must abide by their federation rules regarding equipment, sportspersons’ well-being and the overall safety of their sports.

They must take out professional indemnity insurance to cover any such injuries that may be suffered by any such sportspersons.

In one study, for example, it was found that the injury incidence for non-contact muscle injuries was 4.17 per 1,000 hours of exposure. The incidence of these injuries was 6.3 times greater during match play than during training.

In the same study, 479 injuries sustained resulted in 14,231 days lost for the teams concerned.

In contact sports, such as association football and rugby union, concussion, for example, is a highly prevalent injury, and often a life-threatening or life-changing one.

We professionally advise and legally represent sports persons and sports events organisers in civil and criminal sports injuries cases in Italy.

For further information, please email Sara Botti, the Head of our Italian Law Practice, at ‘botti@valloni.ch’.