Sports Injury Case Brief

This decision involved the liability of a Council and the Australian Sports Oztag Association for { OL 66 }damages arising out of an injury suffered by { OL 66 }the Plaintiff whilst playing Oztag on an uneven playing field.
The Court of Appeal { OL 66 }dismissed the Plaintiff’s appeal on the basis that neither of the Defendants had acted negligently and that in any event the Plaintiff had not shown that any breach of duty of care caused the damages claimed.
Background Circumstances
On 18 January 2000 Mr Falvo (“the Plaintiff”) was playing Oztag, a touch football game organised by the Australian Oztag Sports Association Incorporated (“the Association”), on a field occupied and controlled by the Warringah Council (“the Council”).
The playing field was

As he encountered the bare patch, his knee gave { OL 66 }way and he collapsed in { OL 66 }pain on the ground. The Plaintiff testified a trial that he felt as if his foot simply went into the sand more than anything else and simply gave way.
The Plaintiff brought proceedings against the Association and the { OL 66 }Council for damages arising out of the injuries sustained.
District Court Decision
The trial judge, Hungerford ADCJ, found against the Plaintiff for the following reasons:
1) That the playing field was consistent with acceptable { OL 66 }standards for playing sports such as Oztag and that accordingly all particulars of negligence against the Defendants had not been made out.

2) That Oztag was a “dangerous recreational { OL 66 }activity” within the meaning of ss 5K and 5L of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (New South Wales), which meant that the { OL 66 }Defendants { OL 66 }could not be liable in negligence for harm suffered by the Plaintiff as a result of the materialisation of the obvious risk of a dangerous recreational activity engaged in by the