Rugby injury man fails to win damages
A RUGBY Union player has lost a £500,000 damages claim after suing an opponent who injured him.
Full back Dominic Fry, 26, suffered a ruptured spleen after he was flattened by Ryan Ball, also 26.
He claimed winger Mr Ball “recklessly jumped into” him when he had no chance of winning the ball.
Mr Fry was playing for Haywards Heath and Mr Ball for rivals Hove when he was hurt in West Sussex in 2013, The High Court in central London heard.
Judge Jeremy Freedman dismissed the claim, saying all Mr Ball did was mistime an attempt to charge down Mr Fry’s kick.
He said: “The reality is that the risk of physical injury in a competitive contact sport is both inevitable and unavoidable.”