Q: My broke his clavicle in atheletics whille playing a game the coach told them to play. What should I do about it.

A: In most instances, you cannot sue anyone for injuries that occur during an organized sports event.

In rare instances where the injury was caused by deliberate malicious conduct outside the scope of contact expected in the game, you may be able to sue the person who caused the injury.

If protective equipment failed because of a product defect, you may be able to sue the equipment manufacturer on a product liability theory.

If the injury was the result of a dangerous premises defect in the place where the sports event occurred, you may be able to sue the owner of the venue.

In very circumstances, you can sue coaches or trainers for putting a player back into dangerous situations when they know the player has sustained a hit reasonably likely to have caused an injury. For example, putting a player back into a game instead of following a concussion protocol, or in your instance, putting him back into play after a severe shoulder blow without assessing him for a possible clavicle injury first.

You should consult a personal injury attorney with experience handling sports-related injuries in or near the county where you live to assess whether one of these situations applies in your particular case.

A: It could be worthwhile to try to set up a free initial consult with an attorney. These settings are fact-specific and can be complex in terms of standards of care. There is no universal answer for all possible situations - each needs to be evaluated in detail. Good luck