Professional Interpretation

Abstract: Since 2014, the State Sport General Administration canceled the approval procedure of some sports events which sponsored by the National Athletic Event Association, such as some of important competitive sports events, commercial and public sports events, and public welfare events. The number of sports events in China has been increasing and the types are more diverse. However, due to the inherent risks and commercial operation of sports, the problem of personal injury in sports events has also become prominent. The current legislation does not make clear provisions on personal injury in sports events. Therefore, the Sports Business Team of Beijing Docvit Law Firm will launch a discussion on the personal injury of sports events from the aspects of the classification, principal, responsibility, and compensation.

I.The classification of personal injury in sports events

According to the causes of personal injury, the physical damage of sports events is roughly divided into intentional foul damage, general foul damage, reasonable technical damage and self-damage.

Malicious foul damage refers to the direct violation of the other party's body in order to protect the interests of themselves or the team in the game, thereby preventing the other party from scoring or destroying the other party's favorable situation and causing physical damage to the other party.

The general foul damage refers to the fact that the entrants are not directly aimed at the opponent but objectively causes the opponent's body damage in the competition by the participants in order to destroy the opponent's rhythm or offensive advantage.

Reasonable technical damage refers to the personal injury caused by reasonable technical actions carried out by competitors within the scope permitted by the rules.

Self-damage refers to the personal injury suffered by participants due to their own carelessness or deliberate act out of some need.

II. The Principle of Liability for Personal Injury in Sports Events

The principle of liability for personal injury in sports events directly determines the responsibility of proof. It is mainly divided into the principle of fault liability, the principle of no fault liability, the principle of risk conceit and the principle of fairness.

The principle of fault liability aims to judge the responsibility of personal injury liability according to the subjective psychological state of the entrant. If the entrant deliberately violates the rules of competition sports in order to retaliate, the criminal responsibility shall be borne if the circumstances are serious. If there is no violation of the rules of the competition and sports ethics, there is no fault and no liability.

The principle of no-fault liability refers to the principle of imputation of the responsibility of the person involved in the cause of the damage according to the law. Mainly in professional sports, athletes and their organizations (such as clubs) generally have labor contract relationships. Athletes may experience personal injury during the competition and may be recognized as work-related injuries. Regardless of whether the unit is at fault or not, it shall be liable. When there is corresponding insurance, it shall be paid by insurance.

The principle of risk conceit refers to the entrant's willingness to bear the consequences in the express or implied manner when participating in an activity, or the victim can be exempted from liability when the damage occurs. This principle is widely used in sports events, especially in the fierce antagonistic sports. Unless it is caused by the intentional damage of the inflicter, the inflicter will not bear the responsibility.

The principle of fairness means that the parties have not violated the obligations stipulated by the law, and there is no fault in subjectiveness. It is only the nature of compensation based on the provisions of the law or the sharing of losses between victims based on the concept of fairness and justice. The principle of fairness is used more in judicial practice (and there are also controversies). Generally speaking, the court always make decision according to the actual situation. The victim and the perpetrator will share the damage liability based on the principle of fairness, and the injurer will make appropriate compensation.

III. The Responsibility of Personal Injury in Sports Events

The main bodies that bear the responsibility for personal injury in sports events are entrants who perform the aggression, the entrants or their organizations and the organization managers of the sports events.

The responsibilities of the entrants who carry out the injuring behavior are generally due to the implementation of malicious foul damages. According to the principle of fault liability, the injuring party shall be liable for infringement; in addition, in some cases, the injuring party shall be liable for compensation according to the principle of fairness, in case of foul damage or reasonable technical damage occurred.

There are two situations in which the injured entrants or their organization are responsible: one is that the entrant who performs the aggression acts and perform general foul damage or reasonable technical damage shall be liable for their damage according to the principle of risk conceit; the other is the injured entrant carry out the self-damage behavior, according to the principle of risk conceit, the victim entrant or their organization shall bear the responsibility according to the principle of no fault liability.

If the organization manager fails to fulfill the security guarantee obligations, it shall bear corresponding supplementary responsibilities. The safety guarantee obligations of sports event organizers are mainly the obligation to notify the prohibition matters, the obligation to maintain the site and the obligation to timely rescue. If the organizers of sports events can prove that they have fulfilled their reasonable safety and security obligations, they can generally be exempted from liability, but it does not rule out appropriate compensation for the injured participants based on the principle of fairness.

IV. The scope of compensation for personal injury in sports events

The scope of compensation for personal injury in sports events is currently stipulated by the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Personal Injury Compensation Cases.

The purpose of personal injury compensation for sports events is to compensate the loss suffered by the injured participants, including various expenses incurred due to medical treatment and reduced income due to absence from work.

If the victim is disabled due to injury, the necessary expenses incurred for increasing the need for living and the loss of income due to the loss of working capacity should be compensated.

If the victim dies, the indemnity obligor shall compensate the expenses related to the rescue treatment, and shall also compensate the other reasonable expenses.