Most sports are played using special sports equipment like helmets, masks, rollerblades, snowboards, skateboards, catcher's masks, shoulder pads, shin guards, etc. Properly constructed gear is especially important in rough contact sports like football and hockey, and in high adrenaline speed-based sports like skiing, rollerblading and sledding.  When sports equipment malfunctions or conceals hidden defects that render them unstable and weak, the resulting injuries can be serious and even fatal.

Defective Winter Sports Equipment

Winter sports injuries are some of the most damaging and life altering injuries.  Every winter, as people head to ski slopes to snowboard, toboggan, ski and sled down the icy slopes, they are exposed to the risk of falling and collisions. Many of these occur due to inherent design and manufacturing flaws in equipment. Manufacturers of winter sports equipment often, conveniently blame the training of the sportsman for any accidents, refusing to take responsibility for defective manufacturing.

Defective Helmets and Masks

Defects in helmets and masks have been the focus of dozens of injury lawsuits, although these were more common in the seventies than they are now.  Over the past few decades, the possibility of liability in an accident involving a defective helmet has forced manufacturers to adopt stringent and sharper manufacturing and testing processes for their helmets, drastically bringing down the number of injuries associated with these.  However, football players, hockey players, fencers, baseball catchers and other sportsmen continue to be at risk for punctured or crushed helmets, or damage to the bars of a mask, exposing the player to eye and face injuries. 

Helmet injuries can be the most severe, and can cause a variety of complications. For instance, head injuries that often result because of a defective helmet can quickly cause brain injury complications, including contusions and traumatic brain injuries.  Neck injuries are another frequent occurrence when a defective or unstable helmet is used, and can lead to quickly lead to spinal cord injuries that can result in paralysis or quadriplegia, if immediate medical attention is not provided to the victim.

Other Defective Sports Equipment

Defective bicycles can include handbrakes that fail, pedals that fall off or chains that break. Damaged or defective rollerblades can stop or slow down a skater, exposing them to serious crash and collision risks.