The Personal Injury of Never Playing Again: Damages for Athletes in Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky

The following article was written by William Doering, a former law clerk at Lawrence and Associates. Doering is currently a student at Chase Law and pursuing a Juris Doctorate.

Personal injury cases happen all the time. Most are run-of-the-mill in terms liability and damages. However, there are always extraneous circumstances where damages can be more complex. Each individual plaintiff will require a different amount and type of damages depending on the facts of the accident and the plaintiff’s life circumstances. After accidents, plaintiffs are concerned with being able to do the activities that they were able to do before the accident. Plaintiffs who are no longer able to do certain activities following a personal injury accident may be compensated for that loss. For many, playing sports is an activity that plaintiffs lose the ability to do after an accident.

Suppose for instance that you are an athlete who has just been in a motor vehicle accident. The injury caused by the negligent third party has left you unable to play your respective sport. Damages are proper to help pay for the value of your damaged vehicle, your medical bills, and future treatment. However, you also have the ability to claim damages for being unable to play sports in the form of loss of enjoyment of life. We’ve previously written about damages on several occasions. This blog will describe the basics of personal injury damages, explain the purpose and function of loss of enjoyment of life damages, then describe damages for pro and semi-pro sports players, and discuss how to claim these damages in a tort lawsuit in both Kentucky and Ohio.

What Kinds of Damages Are Allowed in Kentucky and Ohio?

In all successful tort claims, plaintiffs will be able to claim compensatory damages. These can be either general damages or special damages. The American Jurisprudence defines general damages as “those that are the natural and necessary result of the wrongful act or omission asserted” in the complaint. These damages compensate the plaintiff for any loss, injury, or damage such as property damage or medical bills resulting from an accident. Special damages, sometimes called hedonic damages, are another form of compensatory damages. These damages encompass “damages for a harm other than one for which general damages were given.” Special damages can include expenses like loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, pain and suffering, lost wages, mileage, or lost profits.

When claiming special damages, plaintiff must show that they received a great deal of bodily harm; past what general damages can cover. Special damages are calculated separately from one another depending on the jurisdiction; i.e. loss of enjoyment of life will be judged as a separate and distinct category of damages from pain and suffering. Kentucky does not recognize loss of enjoyment damages as a separate claim. However, loss of enjoyment damages may be considered as evidence in determining the severity of injuries, general damages, or pain and suffering. In limited circumstances, Ohio does see loss of enjoyment damages as a separate claim. The reasoning is that Ohio courts see loss of enjoyment damages as a loss of positive experiences rather than an infliction of negative experiences. In calculating loss of enjoyment damages, Ohio limits recovery to circumstances of the injury that were not already addressed in the general damages. This ensures that there are no excess damages awarded to the plaintiff.

What Special Damages Do Kentucky and Ohio Allow Professional Athletes to Claim?

Claiming damages for inability to enjoy sports requires a showing that the harm suffered resulted in a “loss of ability to engage in sports or recreational activities, … loss of a desired vocation or avocation, loss of use of a limb, … or miscellaneous losses” as the court deems fit. A plaintiff must have “developed the ability to perform a pleasurable activity or hobby specifically identified to his or her lifestyle.” There must be an adequate showing that the plaintiff regularly participated in and enjoyed the activities which they can no longer do because of the injury suffered.

If the plaintiff is an athlete with potential to play college, semi-professional, or professional sports, that factor is taken into consideration. However, this type of predictive futures damage is harder to prove. Courts err on the side of caution before awarding these damages because they must be a precise as possible. Not every person injured in a car accident will make it to the pros. Thus, not all plaintiffs should be able to claim these extra damages for potential lost financial damages. Courts will only rule in favor of extra damages in this manner if an athlete was already playing sports at a higher level or if they were certain to play them and have some form of monetary gain from playing them in the near future.

Loss of enjoyment damages are real damages that can be claimed from a personal injury accident. Courts in Kentucky and Ohio allow for them to be claimed following an injury; they are just argued differently. If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence and can no longer enjoy playing sports, you can be compensated for this loss of enjoyment. Make sure to talk to a legal professional about your options if you think you can claim these damages. The legal system may not get you back to playing sports again but it can fairly compensate you for the loss of those positive experiences in life.

Are you a pro or semi-pro athlete that has been injured in an automobile accident or as a result of someone else’s negligence? Don’t go it alone! Lawrence & Associates Accident and Injury Lawyers, LLC has helped thousands of people recover for their injuries, and we know how to fully recover for your damages. We’re Working Hard for the Working Class, and we want to help you!