Not insured when playing in a company tournament?

alochinn

Hi All,

Hope you can help, I played in a rugby tournament on a company team that was put together, against some other teams.
I got injured and it looks like I will need to go to get X-rays etc to see what I have done as it doesn't seem to be healing, this will probably cost a few of hundred to get fixed.

When I inquired about how I could claim this back, both the company and the organizer have told me that they cover "catastrophic injuries such as the building collapsing" but not personal injury.
I would have assumed for the organizer to hold a full contact sporting event, they would have to either insist that each company has personal injury insurance or they would have to provide it.
Can anyone tell me if they are required to provide insurance and pay my expenses or is this just something that I have to take out of my own pocket?

Thanks,

coylemj

I'm assuming that the team 'that was put together' was done as a social exercise and you were not required to play as a condition of your employment. In other words, you voluntarily agreed to participate in a contact sport as a consenting adult and you got injured.

Can you allege any negligence on the part of your employer or the organizers - did they pitch you up against a vastly superior team with no prior warning? Was the pitch surface uneven and dangerous?

You haven't specified anything that would lead me to believe that your employer or the organizers have any liability for your injury. The fact that you got injured doesn't mean that someone is at fault and has to cough up.

Losty Dublin

From my limited experience of 25 years of playing and working in sport, I have never ever heard of a junior or minor team that has an insurance policy that covers players for general injuries and medical expenses that came on the field of play, death and catastrophic injuries aside. It's up to players to personally take out private insurance cover or else to pay into a scheme like Hospital Saturday Fund just in case; accidents do happen and they do cost you; I found out the hard way.

alochinn

Thanks for both of your replies, I am not looking to allege negligence or anything like that as this was not the case and the injury was just one of those things that happen in a full contact sport. All I was really looking for was for my medical expenses to be covered.

It seems I wrongly assumed for a company tournament to be held, either the company or organizer would have to ensure that the appropriate level of insurance was in place in case of injury.

Thanks again for your help, I guess Ill have to take the hit on this one myself.

FreudianSlippers

alochinn wrote: »

Thanks for both of your replies, I am not looking to allege negligence or anything like that as this was not the case and the injury was just one of those things that happen in a full contact sport. All I was really looking for was for my medical expenses to be covered.

It seems I wrongly assumed for a company tournament to be held, either the company or organizer would have to ensure that the appropriate level of insurance was in place in case of injury.

Thanks again for your help, I guess Ill have to take the hit on this one myself.

I hate to ask the obvious, but have you asked your employer to contribute to the costs given it was sanctioned by them?

alochinn

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

I hate to ask the obvious, but have you asked your employer to contribute to the costs given it was sanctioned by them?

Yes I asked both the employer and organizer of the tournament. The response was that they only cover catastrophic injuries, and as I am only 6 months in the company so don't really want to be causing a fuss over it.

To be honest I was hoping to find out that the organizer of the tournament had some sort of requirement to ensure people were covered but seen as that isn't the case I don't really have any option but to pay myself. Guess Ill be eating rice and beans for the rest of the month :-)

bpmurray

Does your company have a health insurance scheme and are you covered? I'm guessing that it's no on at least one of those, but it seems the obvious way to cover the costs.