Jamie Clarke successful before Court of Appeal in sports injury claim arising out of a rugby union match, having also succeeded at trial in 2024: Clark v Elbanna [2025] EWCA Civ. 776
25th Jun 2025
The Court of Appeal has handed down its reasons for dismissing the Defendant’s appeal – in this challenging, hard fought claim – upholding Sweeting J’s decision in favour of Mr Elbanna.
As Nicola Davies LJ summarised, the facts were that on 7 October 2017 the claimant and the defendant were taking part in an amateur rugby match, played under the World Rugby Laws of the Game. Mr Elbanna, as prop forward, was playing for Cheltenham Tigers, and Mr Clark, at open side flanker, was playing for Midsomer Norton. Following half time, and as the game restarted, the defendant ran forward to chase the ball and collided with the claimant causing him to suffer a serious spinal injury at the C5/C6 level.
The CA’s decision is summarised neatly in the final para of the judgment:
What the judge did was to apply the higher and more stringent test namely that the defendant was reckless. Such a finding is unnecessary in order to establish negligence. That said, such a finding properly made will encompass a finding of negligence and on the facts of this case, it did. In my view, there was cogent evidence before the judge which provided a sound basis for his findings of fact. This was not an error of judgment or momentary carelessness by the defendant. The findings of fact and the conclusions drawn from them by the judge provided the basis, in fact and in law, for a conclusion that in colliding with the claimant the defendant failed to exercise such a degree of care as was appropriate. Put shortly, the defendant was negligent. That being so, I am satisfied that the legal test for negligence in the context of this sporting claim is made out and the Respondent’s Notice is upheld. It follows that the other issues raised on the appeal require no further determination. I would dismiss the appeal.
I will write later in the summer about the “other issues raised on the appeal” that were obviated by the Respondent’s Notice (RN), as well as other issues in the case. For now, the judgment illustrates the power of a carefully crafted and focused RN.
Jamie Clarke was instructed throughout by Slater & Gordon on behalf of Mr Elbanna.
The judgment can be found here.
Earlier judgments can be found at:
https://assets.caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/kb/2024/627/ewhc_kb_2024_627.pdf
https://assets.caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/kb/2024/1471/ewhc_kb_2024_1471.pdf
https://assets.caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewca/civ/2025/223/ewca_civ_2025_223.pdf
