Personal Injury Law

Groundbreaking Cheerleading Injury Ruling in Wisconsin

By Editor

The Associated Press carries news of a ruling that could have a major impact on personal injury lawsuits.

The Wisconsin Supreme Ruled that cheerleading is a contact sport, which means that participants cannot be sued for accidental injuries. From the article:

"The court ruled that a former high school cheerleader cannot sue a teammate who failed to stop her fall while she was practicing a stunt. The court also said the injured cheerleader cannot sue her school district."

The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought by a teenager that injured her shoulder when a spotter failed to catch her during an aerial stunt.

Cheerleading injuries have received lots of news lately, and for good reason:

"Researchers at the University of North Carolina have found that two-thirds of the roughly 100 cases of 'catastrophic' sports injuries among high school girls since 1982 have involved cheerleading.

More than 95,000 female students and 2,100 male students take part in high school cheerleading every year, according to the North Carolina researchers."

The growth of cheerleading, and the increasing complexity of their routines, stunts and throws, has lead to increased popularity and exposure - national high school and college finals are aired on ESPN. However, the AP reports that the athletic regulating bodies in few states include cheerleading.

While the ruling does define cheerleading as a contact sport, it appears to leave the door open for personal injury lawsuits in cases of negligence.

Full post as published by The Injury Blog on January 28, 2009 (boomark / email).