Transcript SHC Chapter 04 - updated.pptx

OA 9.2
Sixteen-year-old Johnny was participating in a regular
basketball practice with the rest of his team when Johnny
slipped in a puddle of water during horseplay with another
player and hit his head. This blow to his head caused Johnny
to lose consciousness. As a result of this injury, he was taken
to the emergency room and hospitalized for 24 hours. At the
time of the injury, the coach was answering a telephone call in
the physical education office, and therefore was not directly
supervising the practice.
Was the coach negligent in his responsibility to supervise
the team’s practice?
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Chapter 4
Ethical and Legal Considerations
Concepts for Understanding
Ethical and Legal Considerations
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Liability – being legally responsible
Assumption of risk – aware of dangers
Risk management – planning for risk
Negligence – failure to act
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Ethical and Legal Concepts
• Standard of care – level of competency;
“reasonable and prudent manner”
• Malfeasance – hostile action
• Misfeasance – take inappropriate action
• Nonfeasance – to ignore and take no
action
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Ethical and Legal Concepts
• Gross negligence – failure to act under
the standard of care
• Malpractice – liability generating
conduct
• Ethics – set characteristics
• Tort - harm
• Litigation - lawsuit
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Ethical and Legal Concepts
• Battery – offensive touching or force
without consent
• Code of Ethics – commitment to adhere
to a standard of behavior
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Think it Through
Stacy, Ridgecrest High School’s overworked
athletic trainer, had always felt it was too much
work and that it was not her responsibility to
give the coaches the medical information
records for away games. She thought the
coaches, especially Coach Bordner, would lose
them, and then if she needed them for home
games she wouldn’t have the information to get
the athletes the proper treatment.
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Megan, a defender for Ridgecrest’s varsity girls
soccer, suffered an open compound fracture of
both the tibia and fibula in the second period,
when she was kicked in the shin by an
opposing player. Coach Bordner knew this was
serious as soon as he rushed to Megan’s side.
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He started to activate the Emergency Action
Plan for away games only to realize that he had
no emergency medical records at all. When the
EMS arrived Coach Bordner was given a choice
of two local hospitals to which to take Megan.
He asked the head athletic trainer from the
home team for his suggestion, and Megan was
off to General Hospital.
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The hospital was not able to make immediate
contact with the parents because of the lack of
an emergency record. Knowing that Megan
needed immediate medical treatment, Coach
Bordner said he would act as the guardian and
authorized treatment. The surgery required
pins, screws, and plates to put Megan’s leg
back together.
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Megan’s parents finally arrived at the hospital
and were very happy with the way Coach
Bordner handled the situation, except for one
thing. The hospital that Megan was brought to
was not part of her health maintenance
organization. Megan’s parents would have to
pay for all the services out of their own pocket.
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Megan’s parents had supplied all the
information on the emergency medical record at
the beginning of the season and had the right to
sue for damages. They filed a lawsuit against
Stacy and the school.
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• Is it Stacy’s job to make sure the coach had
the medical information records?
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• Other than just giving the information records
to the coach, what else could Stacy have
done to make sure the coach had the
necessary information and maintained her
files at the same time?
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• What are some possible outcomes of the
trial? Is Stacy guilty of negligence? Why or
why not?
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School District Athletic
Philosophy and Regulations
• Code of Ethics
• Athletic regulations
• Training rules and standards scholastic
eligibility
• Citizenship
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School District Athletic
Philosophy and Regulations
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Team try-outs
Dismissal from a team
Quitting the team
Travel regulations
Outside competition
Participation in other school activities
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Liability Insurance
• Most employers carry liability insurance
on employees who are working for them
• When an athletic trainer works outside
of the job
– Trainer should carry additional liability
insurance in case of a lawsuit
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Reducing the
Potential for Litigation
• Inadequate supervision of the athlete or
client
• Inadequate training of the athlete or
client
• Improper or inadequate medical
treatment by one or more members of
the sports medicine team
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Reducing the
Potential for Litigation
• Faulty equipment or facilities
• Sexual harassment, discrimination, or
other inappropriate behavior by one or
more members of the sports staff
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Protect Oneself from Litigation
• Do not allow a client or athlete to begin
any program without obtaining a signed
informed consent and liability release
• Agree upon fees and put them in writing
before the start of services
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Protect Oneself from Litigation
• Make sure adequate facilities are
available for both men and women
athletes
• If possible, avoid being alone in a room
with an athlete or client to avoid the
suggestion of inappropriate behavior
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Protect Oneself from Litigation
• Keep detailed notes about all professional
activities and those of the team
• Develop an emergency action plan for
every sport
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Protect Oneself from Litigation
• Become familiar with the products and
supplies used
• Read all dealer’s or manufacturer’s
warnings and disclaimers
– Make sure athletes or clients are aware of
them
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Protect Oneself from Litigation
• Consider all sports involved in the
athletic program
– Not just the ones that are conducted on a
court or field
• Follow appropriate procedures on all
injury assessments
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Protect Oneself from Litigation
• Assure supervision of all athletes during
treatment
– Whether in the clinic or on the sidelines
– Make sure staff are aware of any health
problems of the athlete
– Make sure coaches are up-to-date on all
training techniques
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Protect Oneself from Litigation
• Conduct pre- and postseason reviews of
past years and seasons, learning from
both positive and negative events
• Create a daily approach to safety
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Protect Oneself from Litigation
• Make a daily checklist for key items of
concern
• Know your limitations
• Be aware of changes in standards of
care and any other changes that affect
the field of work
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Safety Committee
• Diverse group of individuals
– To identify potential safety concerns for the
athletic program
– Assure implementation of approved safety
measures
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Think it Through
In a New Jersey trial decision, a track
athlete was recruited to play football. He
had never played organized football
before. He was recruited primarily
because of his speed and was to be used
as a receiver. Unfortunately, he was
severely injured while tackling an
opposing player after an interception.
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The athlete sued, contending that the
injury was the result of insufficient
training, conditioning, and supervision.
Investigation showed that he had received
only one practice session on tackling.
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Expert testimony stated that tackling can
be an extremely dangerous skill and that
proper technique and instruction is
paramount to avoiding injury. The jury
found the head coach to be 40%
negligent and the line coach to be 60%
negligent and awarded the plaintiff $6.5
million.
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The jury emphasized that the injured
athlete was a senior who had trained
primarily in track and did not receive
adequate training and instruction in
football. In addition, the jury believed that
the attitude of the coaching staff indicated
the emphasis was on winning and not on
safety.
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• How could this situation have been
prevented?
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