By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 18th September 2023. In this guide, we’ll explain when a valid football stadium accident claim for compensation may be possible. We’ll also talk about how making this type of claim usually works.
Whether you are attending a football match for the first time, are a regular season ticket holder, an employee of the football club, agency worker or a part of the visiting team; a visit to a football stadium should be an enjoyable and above all safe experience.
As a local or visiting fan, your trip to any football stadium, whether large or small should be a fun experience where you get to support your team, feel an amazing atmosphere and see or participate in the action.
If you have been involved in an accident at a football match stadium, such as a crush injury in the crowds, or a slip, trip or fall on the terraces or elsewhere in the stadium, you may be asking who is to blame for your injury.
If you have been injured at a football stadium, no matter what your accident or injury, if it was not your fault you may be entitled to claim compensation.
Get in touch with us today with any questions you may have. There are a few ways you can do this.
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- See if you have a claim online by visiting our website – there’s a digital form to fill out
- Speak to a member of our team using the live chat window in the bottom right
Football Stadium Accident Claim
Select A Section
- Stadium Owners’ Duty Of Care
- Factors Which Can Lead To Football Stadium Accident Claims
- How To Make A Sports Stadium Accident Claim
- How Much Compensation For An Stadium Accident Can I Claim?
- Football Stadium Accident Claims And No Win No Fee Agreements
- Useful Links On Football Stadium Accidents
Stadium Owners’ Duty Of Care
In this section, we will look at the role of the law in football stadiums and the duty of care that stadium owners have over their staff and customers (visitors). There are several legal requirements in the UK that surround the duty of care and football stadiums.
Until the occurrence of several disasters at football stadiums in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s, the terraces which had traditionally made up football stadia were replaced by all seated stadiums. As such, the UK has not seen any football stadium collapse in 2017.
The Football Spectators Act of 1989 can lay the grounds for some football stadium accident claims. During the 1980s there were disasters at different football grounds across the country as a result of congestion on the terraces, as well as other injuries and accidents caused by football hooliganism. The 1989 legislation was created to address these issues and others, such as the fire at the Bradford City stadium in 1986.
The 1989 act required football fans attending league or international matches (in England & Wales) to carry an identity card. This would mean that clubs and authorities can easily identify known hooligans. This was superseded by the Football Act of 1999.
If you have been involved in a football stadium accident, solicitors acting on your behalf will need to ascertain if the following conditions have been followed by the football stadium. These are;
- The rival team’s supporters seating areas must be segregated
- There must be an adequate amount of stewards in specified areas of the stadium
- Stadia and grounds must have adequate parking either on-site or close by
- Stadiums must provide dedicated access for the emergency services to enter the grounds
- There must be adequate numbers of toilet facilities
- All football stadia and clubs must have appropriate first aid equipment and trained professionals
- Players and match officials dressing rooms must be secured and fit for purpose
- Exists should be signposted and there should be sufficient information to ensure people can be safely evacuated if necessary
- There must be a smoke-free environment across the entire stadium and club grounds.
Alcohol cannot be drunk in sight of the pitch
As with any public space, those who own or manage the space have a duty of care to those who are using the facilities.
Factors Which Can Lead To Football Stadium Accident Claims
Football stadium accident claims will look at the factors surrounding the accident and injuries sustained. The owners and event organisers of football stadiums are legally required to take action to reduce the chances of people getting injured.
The facilities should be kept in a good and safe state of repair. This means that they should provide their staff with the training needed to identify and reduce risks. If this is not carried out and people have been injured as a result of this negligence, you could be entitled to make a football stadium accident claim. At any sporting event or event in a large stadium, there will be several factors that could cause spectators, fans or staff to become injured. These factors can include;
- Broken chairs causing seating injuries
- Slippery floors (as a result of spills, cleaning or even the weather) leading to slip, trip, and fall injuries
- Poorly maintained facilities and grounds. This could include things such as an unsafe car park
- Criminal injuries caused by violence that occurs because of a lack of security
- Football action leaving the field, i.e people or the ball coming into the crowd
How To Make A Sports Stadium Accident Claim
You should start your football stadium accident claims process as soon as possible after the initial accident or the presentation of the injury. The first thing to do is to notify the owner, manager or appropriate member of staff. You can do this by recording the accident in the stadiums incident book. This notification can be done in person or by other methods of notification.
The next step in your sports injury compensation claim is to get the medical attention you require. Ensure that you get documentary evidence of your medical records. Make sure you also keep any receipt for medication or treatment. You may be able to include these expenses as part of your claim at a later date. As part of your claim, solicitors acting on your behalf may send you for further medical examinations with approved doctors.
The next step your solicitor may carry out is to gather the evidence necessary to build your claims case. As soon as possible you should talk to any witnesses, collect statements from them and make a note of their contact details for future reference. You should also take pictures of your injuries and the surrounding area or thing which caused the accident. This can help to demonstrate negligence on the part of the stadium.
Next, talk to a solicitor. To make a successful compensation claim, you need a dedicated and professional team behind you.
How Much Compensation For An Stadium Accident Can I Claim?
A question solicitors are often asked by clients is how much compensation they can expect to get for an accident in a football stadium? This is a reasonable question for people to ask. However, it is impossible to provide clients with a definitive answer before weighing up all the different facets of their claim.
What we can do is provide you with some example figures from a publication known as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). These guidelines are used by legal professionals to help calculate the portion of your compensation known as general damages. General damages are awarded to you to acknowledge the pain and suffering associated with your injury.
The table below contains some of the figures from the latest edition of the JCG, regarding what certain injuries can be worth in general damages. If your injury is not listed in the table, do not worry. This is just a small cross-section of the JCG.
| Injury | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Chest Injuries | (b) a traumatic injury sustained to the chest, including the lung(s) and/or the heart that causes permanent damage, disability, and a reduced lifespan | £65,740 to £100,670 |
| Knee Injuries | (a) Severe – (ii) a fracture beginning in the knee that extends into the knee that causes constant symptoms | £52,120 to £69,730 |
| Knee Injuries | (b) Moderate – (i) dislocation and torn cartilage etc | £14,840 to £26,190 |
| Back Injuries | (a) Severe – (iii) permanently damage to discs in the spine or surrounding soft tissue that leads to a number of disabilities | £38,780 to £69,730 |
| Back Injuries | Minor – fully recovered within 3 months | Up to £2,450 |
| Leg Injuries | (iv) Moderate – complicated or multiple fractures to a single limb caused by severe crush injuries | £27,760 to £39,200 |
| Leg Injuries | (c) Less serious – (ii) simple femur fractures | £9,110 to £14,080 |
| Neck Injuries | Minor – (iii) completely recovered with 3 months | Up to £2,450 |
There are often additional things you can claim for, outside of the general damages figure. These are known as special damages. For example, you could experience a loss of earnings due to your inability to attend work. The wages you would have earned during this period could be considered eligible to be reclaimed via a special damages payment. Other things include medical costs and travel expenses. You must have evidence of these additional costs that have occurred due to your injuries. If you do not have proof, it becomes much less likely you’ll be reimbursed.
For more information regarding what else could be reclaimed in special damages, get in touch with our advisors.
Football Stadium Accident Claims And No Win No Fee Agreements
If you are seeking compensation for an injury you suffered in a football stadium, you may wish to instruct a solicitor to work on your claim. If so, one of our solicitors could help. Their services are generally provided under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This is a type of No Win No Fee arrangement.
Typically, solicitors who work under this type of arrangement don’t ask for upfront payments to cover their services. They also don’t charge any ongoing fees. Furthermore, your solicitor won’t ask you to pay for their services if you are not awarded compensation following an unsuccessful claim.
However, a success fee will be taken from your award if your claim has a positive outcome. The success fee is a legally capped percentage of the compensation awarded.
Our advisors are available to answer any questions you have about football stadium accident claims. They can also discuss eligibility and if it seems like you have good grounds to make a personal injury claim, you could be passed onto one of our solicitors.
To speak to an advisor:
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Fill in our ‘claim online’ form and an advisor will call you back.
- Connect using our live webchat.
Useful Links On Football Stadium Accidents
Below, you can find more useful information on football stadium accidents and claims.
The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) guidance on seating at work – Visit this website, where you can see advice on carrying out risk assessments in the workplace.
CCTV Footage Request Form – You have a legal right to request CCTV footage of yourself. So, if your injury was captured by a CCTV camera, you could use it as a form of evidence.
What Is A Litigation Friend? – It’s possible to appoint someone else to pursue your claim on your behalf. Find out how from this government source.
Slips At Work – Advice on slips, trips, and falls in the workplace and how to make a claim for these accidents.
Public Place Accidents – This is our guide on other forms of accidents that can happen in a public place.
Personal Injury Claims – Find out more about personal injury claims in general by reading our general guide.
To speak to an adviser about making a football stadium accident claim, you can contact Legal Expert for support. You are welcome to get in touch with us using the contact details found within this guide.
