I Was Injured at a March Madness Game. Who’s Responsible?

March 25, 2019

March is the perfect month to be a Hoosier basketball fan. Indiana schools spoil us with consistent appearances in college basketball’s big dance and the madness that follows. Often, we’ve had the privilege of hosting some of those March Madness games in our own state capital. We’re even hosting the NCAA Final Four and National Championship games in 2021.

With all that in mind, the last thing you’ll want to worry about is something hampering your March Madness experience should you go to the games. But what if you’re injured at a March Madness game?

For Slips and Falls

As in all injury cases, you have to establish negligence.

Understanding that basic idea is crucial. If you simply slipped and fell of your own accord, you’ll have a difficult time making an argument that the fault lies with anyone but yourself.

In addition—and this may be counterintuitive at a first glance—even if you slipped and fell because of an unaddressed hazard in the stadium, the owners of the premises still may not be at fault.

This is where negligence comes back into play. An unaddressed hazard—such as a minor water spill that just occurred or a brief power outage—may not be the owner’s fault if they haven’t had a reasonable amount of time to address the problem. Such a situation is entirely out of the property owner’s control.

On the other hand, some situations are because of owner negligence and result in their liability. Examples include:

• Spilled water left on the floor for a long time, even after those in charge have been notified
• Poorly-lit entryways or exits left unfixed
• Proceeding with faulty sound equipment even when it’s known to result in hearing damage for guests

All of these must be situations the owner should have known about or did know about and failed to address in a timely fashion to ensure visitor safety.

If you can establish that negligence, the owner of the premises may be responsible for your injury.

For Event-Related Injuries

Even being a spectator at a sporting event can carry risk.

Owners of stadiums know this, and they often try to anticipate potential liability by putting disclaimers on the backs of tickets and brochures. These address issues such as errant balls or athletes falling into the front row.

In this scenario, it may be more difficult to claim negligence on the part of the owners because, as the ticket holder and event attender, you accepted an amount of risk when you chose to enter the stadium or sit so near the court anyway. This is known as your assumption of risks.

However, it may still be possible to hold an owner accountable if your injury stemmed from something no reasonable fan could expect, such as a scuffle overflowing into the stands or other unruly fans causing harm.

Help from an Indiana Personal Injury Lawyer

An injury shouldn’t ruin your March Madness experience. If you or someone you know has been injured due to a property owner’s negligence, Hensley Legal Group may be able to help. Call us today or contact us online for a free conversation about your claim. Our Indiana personal injury lawyers are here to help.