Daniel Charnock had joined a professional wrestling company, National Community Wrestling Association (NCWA) after deciding to take up wrestling as a hobby.  He’d had his first lesson and was attending for the second one when the accident occurred.

Wrestling injury caused by men’s substantial weight difference

Daniel weighed around nine stones and was a beginner, so was surprised that on this second session he was partnered with a man who weighed 20 stones.  In one particular move, the heavier man, as part of an arranged move, deliberately fell onto Daniel, who was positioned on the floor in the corner of the ring.  The heavier man climbed onto the ropes and jumped off, moving his body into the horizontal, with the intention of body slamming (or “splashing”) into Daniel’s body. It may have been the heavier man’s intention to break his fall with his arms and knees and miss Daniel, but he did not, and he hit Daniel’s upper body with his own upper body.  Daniel felt the pain in his chest but continued with the training session.

Collapsed lung caused by wrestling injury

The pain in Daniel’s chest built up and he began to suffer breathlessness, which got worse.  He attended A & E at Rotherham General Hospital.  After a number of investigations, including a chest x-ray, he was told that his right lung had collapsed.  A tube was inserted into the lung and after a number of days he was sent home with an appointment to attend Northern General Hospital at a later date.  Here he had an operation, which kept him in hospital for a couple of weeks.

Following the operation, Daniel’s lung healed in the main, although he would still get pain on sudden movement, was occasionally out of breath and had a persistent cough.

Jonathan settles claim after issuing proceedings

Daniel contacted Graysons to see if he was able to make a compensation claim, as he felt that the wrestling club had not properly looked after his health and safety.  Jonathan took up his case and contacted the club. Jonathan says:

“NCWA is a professional wrestling company which trains wrestlers and puts on the sort of shows you see on TV. This is not amateur wrestling that is concerned with competitive fights. The club owed a duty of care to Daniel to see that he was reasonably safe whilst undertaking his training, and it breached this duty of care.  Due to the significant weight difference between the two men, it was foreseeable that if the heavier man fell on Danile, an injury would be caused.”

The club denied liability and so Jonathan issued court proceedings, after which the club decided to settle the case and Jonathan was able to negotiate a settlement of £4,000.

If you have had an accident and you think that it was not your fault, contact our experts now and we will organise a free of charge meeting in which we can discuss your case and let you know what we believe the prospects of success are.  You can also find out more about making a compensation claim for injury on our web pages.