2. LIABILITY AND
NEGLIGENCE
Liability:
The state of being responsible for something or something that someone is
responsible for.
Employer need not be negligent to be liable.
Three defenses are available:
The employee was not negligent.
The employee was not acting within the scope of employment.
The employee was an independent contractor.
Negligence:
Sport managers are negligent when:
They commit an act/omission causing injury to a person to whom they
owe a duty to act with care.
Negligence imposes a duty to refrain from careless acts.
3. LIABILITY OF ATHLETIC
ADMINISTRATORS
An administrator, school or athletic
facility may also be sued under the
assumption of indirect liability for the
alleged negligence of an employee.
An administrator may be sued in his/her
role as the supervisor of a coach or
teacher.
4. ATHLETIC FACILITY
“LEGAL MATTERS”
Athletic facility must be in compliance
with four major issues that can present
potential risk for it’s facility when it
comes to Liability and Negligence.
5. Americans with Disabilities
Act
(Issue-1)
A law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990, ADA recognizes
and protects the civil rights of people with disabilities (Riley, 2006). The
ADA addresses:
Title 1- Access to the workplace (Riley, 2006)
Title II- State and local government services (Riley, 2006)
Title III- Places of public accommodation and commercial facilities
(Riley, 2006)
Title IV- Requires phone companies to provide telecommunications relay
services for people who have hearing or speech impairments (Riley,
2006)
Title V- Miscellaneous instructions to Federal agencies that enforce the
law. (Riley, 2006)
6. STAFF CERTIFICATION AUDITS
(ISSUE 2)
Ensure that staff are current with their fitness certifications
Failure to do so makes the athletic facility susceptible to
allegations of what is known as “misrepresentation”.
Misrepresentation occurs when an individual makes a false claim
as to his or her experience, qualifications, certifications or degrees
7. STAFF CERTIFICATION AUDITS
PREVENTING LAWSUITS
Facility manager should take to avoid such a lawsuit:
Keep careful track of each employee’s certification expiration
date, and ensure that certifications are renewed in a timely
manner (Riley, 2006).
Use staff meetings to address the legal issues surrounding
certifications (Riley, 2006).
Distribute copies of professional literature on legal issues, such
as misrepresentation, to increase staff awareness (Riley, 2006).
Offer incentives to staff to keep their certifications current.
Fine any employee who collects fees from members during
periods of invalid certification (Riley, 2006).
8. AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR
(ISSUE 3)
AEDs are portable devices that
deliver an electric shock to the
heart, halting sudden cardiac
arrest and restoring normal heart
rhythms (American Red Cross
2005).
9. GOOD SAMARITAN
LEGISLATION
Providers of emergency care may enjoy various
levels of immunity from legal liability under the
umbrella of “Good Samaritan” legislation.
However, any immunity provided under Good
Samaritan law is limited to ordinary negligence;
reckless or grossly negligent conduct is excluded
(Premack 1996).
School system is legally liable for any negligence associated with its athletic facility. To avoid litigation, we as athletic administrator must exercise the ability to design, construction, and develop a maintenance plan for all aspects of a new facility. This PowerPoint presentation will present details to concerned citizens in the community or school officials to inform them of the potential safety issues that may be involved and the steps being taken to safeguard against such issues.
As athletic administrators we must know the meaning and the understanding of liability and negligence when we are in charge of running and athletic department or facility. The legal issues that may arise because we do not understand the importance of the meaning of these to word as it relate to and athletic facility is very detrimental to our job.
Athletic administrators have a duty of reasonable care to inspect the athletic facility for hidden and unseen dangers. School system will be liable for harm caused by dangers that were known or should have been known through proper detection. So, the responsibility to maintain the athletic facility in such a manner to avoid unreasonable risks is the facility director/athletic director.
Athletic administrators have so much on their plates each day it is understandable that complacency happens and failing to take stock of potential legal risks can be very detrimental. Athletic facility is a business like any other and must be operated with extreme scrutiny to detail. Preventing legal matters are of importance to running a good athletic facility.
The main objective of the ADA is to safeguard that businesses do what is thought to be “reasonable” for the individuals involved. Meaning, ADA compliance is promptly attained by making reasonable adjustments in the daily operations of your athletic facility to assist people with disabilities. Athletic facility can comply with this responsibility by eliminating obstacles where it is attainable to do so. If obstacles can be eliminated with little expense, then the facility manager must get that obstacles removed. If eliminating the obstacles would be financially harmful to the athletic facility, then the facility is not under any duty to make the improvement. The ADA gives people with disabilities the right to sue in federal court to obtain an order to stop a specific violation. The outcome of this type of lawsuit is compliance within a certain time period and payment of the disabled party’s legal fees. Monetary damages are not awarded (Riley, 2006).
Facility managers and their staff have a shared responsibility to make sure all certifications are in good standing. If a person is injured, any lawsuit connected to that injury will be accurately examined at the instant the injury happened. Including misinformation about the staff of the facility’s advertisements potentiates legal liability (Riley, 2006).
Misrepresentation does not need to be deliberate. Generally violations result from careless oversights (i.e., negligence) and administrative complacency. Any personnel certification that had expired at the time of the customer’s injury, then a case for misrepresentation can be made, even if the certification expired that very day. So making sure that your staff certifications are up to date is exceptionally important (Riley, 2006).
The ACSM and the AHA recommended the placement and use of AEDs in athletic facilities in 2002. Matters of fact, in some states have passed legislation mandating AED use in athletic facility setting for safety reason. If the athletic facility decides to maintain an AED as a part of its emergency resource, be advised that certain mandatory legal duties will arise. These include strict training, certification, and maintenance of the devices (Gmelich 2000).
The “Good Samaritan” is a source of tort law that offers a person who sees another individual in pending and serious danger or peril cannot be charged with negligence if that first person attempts to aid or rescue the injured party, given the attempt is not made irresponsibly. This law will protect your athletic staff from being liability for injuries arising from their negligence. The purpose is to inspire emergency assistance by eliminating the threat of liability for damage done by the assistance. Though, the assistance must be reasonable; a staff member cannot benefit from the Good Samaritan doctrine if the assistance is grossly negligent(Brouhard, 2011).