Paintball is a very popular game that is currently played by millions from around the world. However, the sport is quite controversial because of the injuries possible. What you might not know is that players are faced with very serious risks, like blinding or even death. When injured in a paintball game, it is important to contact the best injury lawyer Giddens Law Firm since you most likely have to file some sort of personal injury lawsuit. Compensation is available for injuries whenever they were caused by any type of negligence or carelessness.
Potential Legal Claims
Some of the common claims noticed in personal injury claims related to paintball are:
- Injuries being caused by negligence – This is the most common of the legal claims. With the negligence claim, plaintiffs claim the injuries were caused by some sort of carelessness coming from a defendant. The trick is to prove exactly what caused the injury. When the cause is negligence, like when a player was careless or the facility did not offer quality protective gear, compensation is available for the injuries.
- Injuries being caused by defects – Dangerous or defective products can lead to injuries in paintball games. For instance, the mask or the paintball gun are commonly referred to in claims like these. In such a case, the claim is usually against the product distributor, seller, or manufacturer.
- Injuries being caused by battery or assault – These are less common but should be highlighted. When the paintball injury appeared because of some sort of intentional act coming from someone else, not an accident, you can sue because of the laws surrounding assault and battery.
Possible Defenses
If you are thinking about filing a paintball personal injury claim, you should be aware of the potential defenses that can appear. The two more common ones are:
- Risk Assumption – You participate in a paintball match, which inherently implies you are faced with a specific level of risk. As a result, defendants can use this as a legal strategy in which the goal is to prove you knew what you were getting yourself into. Out of all the possible defenses, this is the one that is seen the most.
- Consent – In most intentional tort cases, consent is used as a defense strategy. The premise is that you consented to the possibility of ending up hurt in the paintball game. Usually, this is reinforced by some sort of contract the victim signed. If the contract does exist, the injury claim is less likely to be successful.
Obtaining Financial Compensation
Paintball injury claims are not common. As a result, it can be very difficult to know exactly what can be done and what is not possible after being injured. The best option available if you think about an injury claim is to hire an injury lawyer who is experienced with paintball cases. They are rare but you can find this with the use of the internet.
How much you are going to receive is all about the injury you suffered and how it impacted your life. Calculating damages is done in the same way as with all other injury claims. Compensation might include pain and suffering.
