Table of Contents

THE QUESTION THAT DECIDES MOST SPORTS INJURY CASES

California uses a rule called primary assumption of risk. It means nobody has to protect you from the risks that are part of the sport itself. You can’t sue a teammate for a clean tackle that broke your collarbone.

The California Supreme Court set this rule in Knight v. Jewett (1992), a case about an informal touch football game. Under Knight, another player is liable only for conduct that “intentionally injures another player” or is “so reckless as to be totally outside the range of the ordinary activity involved in the sport.”

The people who run the sport are held to a different line. Coaches and instructors have “a duty not to increase the risks inherent in sports participation,” the Court said in Avila v. Citrus Community College District (2006). The Court has also said, in passing, that those who run athletic facilities have a similar duty. That is where many claims live:

• A coach who pushes an untrained athlete into something dangerous.
• A league that keeps a player in after a suspected head injury.
• A field with holes, broken fencing or a loose goal.
• A helmet or other gear that fails.

WHAT *AVILA* SHOWS ABOUT INHERENT RISK

Avila went against the injured athlete. A community college batter was hit in the head by a pitch that cracked his helmet. He said it was a deliberate “beanball.” The Court held that “being hit by a pitch is an inherent risk of baseball,” even on purpose, so the host college owed him no duty to prevent it.

He also said his own team’s first-base coach told him to stay in the game while he was still dizzy. Those claims were not before the Court. Today, California law requires high schools and youth sports organizations to pull an athlete suspected of a head injury for the rest of the day.

WHEN A COACH CAN BE RESPONSIBLE

Kahn v. East Side Union High School District (2003) is the leading California case on coaches. A 14-year-old novice on a junior varsity swim team broke her neck on a practice dive into a shallow racing pool at a swim meet. She said her coach never taught her a shallow-water racing dive, promised she wouldn’t have to dive, then told her minutes before the meet that she had to.

The Court held that a coach is liable only for intentional harm or conduct “totally outside the range of the ordinary activity” involved in teaching or coaching the sport. Pushing an athlete is part of coaching. But the Court said a jury could find this coach crossed that line, and it sent the case back.

In a coaching case, we look at training records, coaches’ texts and what teammates saw. Kahn turned on details like these.

CALIFORNIA’S YOUTH SPORTS SAFETY LAWS

Two statutes set the concussion rules. Education Code section 49475 covers school districts, charter schools and private schools. Health and Safety Code section 124235 covers youth sports organizations, which the law defines to include businesses, nonprofits and “a local governmental agency” running sports for kids 17 and under. City rec leagues and private clubs are both covered.

Under both laws, an athlete with a suspected concussion or head injury comes out “for the remainder of the day” and can’t return without written clearance from a licensed health care provider. Our guides explain how the concussion protocol works and what happens if you play with a concussion.

Tackle football has its own law. The California Youth Football Act has required these steps of youth tackle football programs since January 1, 2021 (Health and Safety Code section 124241):

• No more than two full-contact practices a week, and none in the off-season
• No more than 30 minutes of full contact in any single day
• A certified EMT, paramedic or higher-level medical professional at every game
• An independent, nonrostered person certified in first aid, CPR, AED use and concussion protocols at every practice location
• Helmets reconditioned and recertified every other year, unless the manufacturer says otherwise
• At least 10 hours of noncontact practice at the start of each season
• An annual tackling and blocking certification for coaches

School football has a separate limit. High school and middle school teams get two full-contact practices a week and 90 minutes of full contact a day (Education Code section 35179.5).

Each rule leaves records. Practice logs, helmet certification labels and game staffing lists show whether a league followed the law.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CITY FIELDS AND THE SIX-MONTH CLAIM

Many San Diego sports injuries happen on public property. A claim against a public entity usually has to be presented in writing within six months (Government Code section 911.2). The rule that pauses a child’s deadline until age 18 does not apply to these claims (Code of Civil Procedure section 352(b)).

There is a narrow safety valve. A late-claim application can be made within one year of the injury, and the agency must grant it if the injured person was a minor for the whole six months (Government Code sections 911.4 and 911.6). Don’t plan around it.

Public agencies also have a special defense. Government Code section 831.7 protects them from injuries during “hazardous recreational activities” on public property, and its list includes “body contact sports,” bicycle racing, surfing and skiing. The protection has limits:

• The California Supreme Court held in Avila that it “does not extend to injuries sustained during supervised school sports.”
• It does not cover a failure to guard or warn of a known dangerous condition, poor maintenance of equipment or structures, or gross negligence.
• It does not protect a private company or league operating on public property (section 831.7(d)).

School teams also come with an insurance rule. California requires school districts to make sure every member of a school athletic team has insurance for medical and hospital expenses from an accidental injury (Education Code section 32221). A family’s own health coverage can satisfy it, so ask the school early whether a district or student-body policy covers the team. More on school claims is on our government liability page.

TWO SAN DIEGO VENUES, TWO SETS OF RULES

Morley Field Sports Complex, Balboa Park. Morley Field is a City of San Diego sports complex at 2221 Morley Field Drive, in the northeast section of Balboa Park. The City lists 25 tennis courts, the Bud Kearns swimming pool, an archery range, a multi-purpose ball field and a velodrome. Some facilities there are run by separate groups. We name it only as an example of a City sports complex, not to suggest any problem there. A claim about the condition of City property goes through the City’s six-month claim process. Where a separate group runs a facility, it may share responsibility.

A City-owned youth sports complex near Del Mar. The former San Diego Polo Club grounds are City of San Diego land, and a private operator has run the youth sports site there under a 28-year lease since 2016, KPBS reported in 2024. Here a claim may involve the private operator, the City as landowner, or both, each with different rules and deadlines.

WAIVERS IN RECREATIONAL SPORTS

Most club teams, camps and leagues have you sign a release. California courts often enforce them, but not for everything. In City of Santa Barbara v. Superior Court (2007), a case about a City summer camp, the California Supreme Court held that a release for sports or recreational programs “purporting to release liability for future gross negligence, generally is unenforceable.” Bring us what you signed. The exact wording matters.

DEFECTIVE SPORTS EQUIPMENT

When a helmet cracks or a soccer goal tips over, the company that made or sold it may be responsible. Keep the equipment, unrepaired. See our San Diego product liability page.

OUR RESULTS

Gomez Trial Attorneys has recovered more than $1 billion for clients over 20 years. Results include:

• $1,000,000 for a client who suffered a traumatic brain injury after falling out of a negligently driven golf cart.
• $3,230,000 for a client struck in her vehicle at an intersection where the stop sign had been removed. She broke her pelvis and her femur. Gomez Trial Attorneys resolved the case against both the other driver and the government agency responsible for the missing sign.

More are on our case results page.

Results depend on the facts of each case. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

For head injuries, see our sports TBI statistics and our San Diego brain injury lawyer page.

WHAT TO DO AFTER A SPORTS INJURY

1. Get medical care, and tell the doctor exactly how the injury happened.
2. Ask the coach, school or facility for a copy of any incident report.
3. Write down who was coaching, who was on the field and who saw it.
4. Photograph the field, court, pool or equipment.
5. Keep the helmet, pads or gear involved, unrepaired.
6. Save the waiver, registration emails and any concussion information sheet you signed.
7. If a school, college or city was involved, call well before six months pass.

HOW LONG YOU HAVE TO FILE

Most injury claims in California must be filed within two years (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). For a child, the deadline for the child’s own claim generally does not start until age 18 (section 352). Claims you hold as a parent, such as for medical bills you paid, may follow a shorter clock. Public entities are different. Public schools, community colleges and cities usually need a written claim within six months, and being a minor does not pause that deadline.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

CAN I SUE FOR A SPORTS INJURY IN CALIFORNIA?

Sometimes. You can’t sue over the ordinary risks of a sport, like a clean tackle or a ball to the face. You may have a claim if a coach, league, school or facility added risks beyond the sport itself, or if another player hurt you on purpose or recklessly.

MY CHILD KEPT PLAYING AFTER A HEAD INJURY. IS THAT A LEGAL ISSUE?

It can be. California requires schools and youth sports organizations to remove an athlete with a suspected concussion for the rest of the day and to get written medical clearance before return. If that didn’t happen, the organization may be responsible for the harm that followed.

MY CHILD WAS HURT AT A PUBLIC SCHOOL GAME. WHAT’S THE DEADLINE?

Usually six months to present a written claim to the school district. The rule that pauses a child’s deadline does not apply to public entities. A late-claim application is sometimes possible within one year, but don’t count on it.

I SIGNED A WAIVER. CAN I STILL BRING A CLAIM?

Possibly. California courts often enforce sports and recreation releases for ordinary carelessness. But the California Supreme Court held in City of Santa Barbara v. Superior Court (2007) that a release of liability for future gross negligence generally is unenforceable. The exact wording matters, so bring us what you signed.

WHAT DOES IT COST TO HIRE GOMEZ TRIAL ATTORNEYS?

Nothing up front. We work on contingency, so our fee comes from what we recover, and there is no attorney’s fee unless we win.

TALK TO A SAN DIEGO SPORTS INJURY LAWYER

Call 833-GET-GOMEZ or contact us online for a free case review. Our San Diego office is at 755 Front Street, San Diego, CA 92101. Hablamos español.