© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Lesson 2: Legal Liability.

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Lesson 2: Legal Liability


Legal Concerns

• Negligence suits involving coaches, athletic trainers, school officials and physicians have increased in frequency and amount of damages awarded

• Liability – _______________________________________

___________________– Must be certain you are aware of all rules and

regulations relative to healthcare in a given state


Standard of Reasonable Care

•Negligence: the failure to use ordinary or reasonable care.

•Standards of reasonable care–assumes that a person is of ordinary and reasonable prudence–bring commonsense approach to the situation–must operate within the appropriate limitations of ones educational background


Torts

•Legal wrongs committed against a person (liability results)•May originate from

–Nonfeasance–Malfeasance–Misfeasance–See P. 48 for definitions


May be Guilty of Negligence IF

•Care giver does something a reasonably prudent individual would not.

•Care giver fails to do something a reasonably prudent individual would not.

•Causes Harm

•Athletic trainer has a duty to provide coverage to athletes (obligation)


Proving Negligence

Four necessary proofs (must prove all 4)

– ____________________

• ____________________________

– _____________________

– _____________________

– ______________________________


Good Samaritan Law

– Provides limited protection against legal liability to one that provides care should something go wrong

– Assumes the individual would provide reasonable care consistent with their level of training


Documentation

• Important defense against litigation

• Includes:– ______________________________– Medical data forms– ______________________________– ______________________________


Documentation Hints

• _______________________________

• Always write in ink

• _______________________________

• _______________________________


Statutes of Limitation

•Definition

•Varies by state but generally ranges from 1-3 years

•Clock begins at the time the negligent act results in suit or from the time injury is discovered following negligent act

•Minors generally have an extension


Assumption of Risk•________________________________________________________________________________________________________

•Expressed in written waiver or implied from conduct of athlete once participation begins

•Can be used as defense against an athlete’s negligence suit


• Does not excuse individuals (coaches, ATC) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

• Many and varied interpretations (particularly with minors)

• Often a waiver will stand in court except in incidents of fraud, misrepresentation or duress


Release of Medical Records

• The release of medical records can not occur without written consent

• If the athlete wants records released to colleges/universities, professional organizations, insurance companies or news media, he/she and the parents/guardians must provide written consent– Waiver must specify information to be released


HIPAA Regulations• _______________________________

_______________________________ _______________________________

• Provides athletes with access to their medical records and control over how their health information is used and disclosed

• Athlete can provide blanket authorization for release of specified medical information on a yearly basis


FERPA Regulations• _______________________________________

– Protects privacy of student educational records• Provides parents certain rights with respect to

inspection of child’s educational records– Can request corrections if inaccurate or misleading

• Rights transfer to child– Age 18 or upon entering school beyond high school

(become “eligible student”)• School must have written permission to release

information


Injury Reports

• _________________________________

• Reports can shed light on events that may be hazy following an incident

• ______________________________

• All reports should be filed in the athletic training room– Filled out in triplicate depending on site

• Copy to school health office, physician and one copy should be retained


Treatment Log• Sign-in to keep track of services• Daily treatments can be recorded• Can be used as legal documentation in

instances of litigation• Subject to HIPAA and FERPA regulations

Personal Information Card• Contains contact information for family,

personal physician, and insurance information


Injury Evaluation and Progress Notes

• Injured athlete should be evaluated by ___________ ___________________– Record of the evaluation should be kept

• If not available, a coach should encourage athlete and parents to set appointment with a local physician for injury assessment, diagnosis and documentation.


Hiring a Certified Athletic Trainer in Secondary Schools• Problems occurring later from improperly

managed injuries could be avoided with proper management from an athletic trainer

• According to the NATA– “…all secondary schools should provide the

services of a full-time, on-site, certified athletic trainer (ATC) to student athletes.”

• American Academy of Pediatrics (1998) adopted a policy recommending employment of ATC’s in the high school setting

© 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Lesson 2: Legal Liability.

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Transcript of © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Lesson 2: Legal Liability.