Legal Terms
and Issues
in Athletics
"Sports Medicine." Sports Medicine. Joint School District
No. 2; Boise, Eagle, Meridian, Star, n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.

Is the state of BEING LEGALLY
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HARM ONE CAUSES
ANOTHER PERSON.
LIABILITY

Must act according to the standards of a
reasonable prudent person with comparable
education, skills and training
◦ The Athletic Trainer
◦ The Coach
◦ The Student Athletic Trainer
 "REASONABLE
CARE“
 "COMMON SENSE"
 The
FAILURE to use ordinary or
reasonable care

Standards set by
 Implicit expectations (treat with
respect)
 Policy and procedure manuals
 NATA Role delineation / Educational
Competencies
 Position statements (ACOSM, NCAA,
NATA)
NEGLIGENCE

Due Care
◦Common Sense Care
◦Reasonable care an ordinary
person with comparable
education would use
 Legal
Wrong committed
against the person or
property of another
 Two Basic Type of Tort
Claims
◦ Acts of Omission
◦ Acts of Commission
TORT

The Athletic Trainer FAILS to PERFORM a
Legal Duty
◦Don’t DO something YOU
SHOULD DO
ACT OF OMISSION
 An
Athletic Trainer fails to refer a
seriously injured athlete for the
proper medical attention
 An Athletic Trainer fails to know
the medical history of an athlete
which results in a medical
emergency
◦ i.e. Medical allergies, food allergies,
drug allergies, medical conditions
Examples
ACT OF COMMISSION

The Athletic Trainer COMMITS an act that
is not LEGALLY his/hers to perform
◦Do something you aren’t
trained to do
 An
Athletic Trainer performs a medical
treatment not within his or her legal
province and serious medical
complications develop
 An Athletic Trainer administers
prescription medication to an athlete
without direct instructions from a
physician
Examples
Five Basic Elements of Tort
Allegations
 Courts
will look for five basic
elements in any tort allegation
 What
is our “duty”?
- job descriptions
- NATA competencies
 Abandonment
- once services are provided,
patient must agree / voluntarily
terminate relationship
- substituting practitioner could
be charged
1) Existence of Duty
 Did
you act REASONABLE when
carrying out your everyday
activities?
2) STANDARD OF CARE
 Did
you FAIL to exercise reasonable
care?
 Did you violate a law?
 Did you operate under standard of
care?

- Herbert, D.L., (1992). The sports medicine
standards book. Canton OH.
3) BREACH OF DUTY
 Did
YOUR breach of duty
substantially contribute to the
injury?
 Did you FAIL to FORSEE the injury
with a particular action?
4) PROXIMATE CAUSE OF A
RESULTING INJURY
5) THERE MUST BE INJURY
Damages

The Sports Medicine professional has a
DUTY to ADHERE to the Recognized
Standard of Care of the Profession
Harm has to be proven
 Physical damage
 Emotional Distress
 Loss of…



An athletic trainer
through improper or
careless handling of
a therapeutic agent,
seriously burns an
athlete
An Athletic Trainer moves
a possibly seriously
injured athlete from the
field of play to permit
competition or practice to
continue and does so
either in an improper
manner or before
consulting those qualified
to know the proper course
of action and injures the
athlete.
Examples of Torts

The Tort Concept of Negligence is held by
the courts, when it is proven that an
individual:
Tort Claims
 DOES
something that
a reasonably
prudent person
would NOT DO
 FAILS
to do
something that a
reasonably prudent
person would do
under
circumstances
similar to those
shown by the
evidence

The Courts Generally Acknowledge that
Hazards ARE PRESENT in sports through
the Concept of
Risk."
"Assumption of
ASSUMPTION OF RISK
 The
individual, either by expressed
or implied agreement, assumes
the danger and hence relieves the
other individual of legal
responsibility to protect him or
her.
◦The Athlete agrees there are
risks
 This
in no way exempts those
in charge from exercising
reasonable care and prudence
in the conduct of activities or
from foreseeing and taking
precautionary measures
Know
the Risks
Understand the Risks
Appreciate the Risks
Athletes
MUST:
Minors
CAN NOT
Waive Their Rights
Not able to make a
mature judgment
NEWSFLASH!!!
 At
the Beginning of each season
Athletes must be sufficiently
warned of the Possible Risks
Inherent with that sport.
 Explain the Rules and the
Dangers they may face when
using improper and dangerous
techniques
WARNING OF RISKS
FORESEEABILITY OF
RISK
ATHLETES HEALTH AND WELFARE
#1 PRIORITY
Regular
Checks of
Facilities
◦HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS
Accurate
Records of
Injuries and Treatments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XbrU
HMDTg0
Brain Break
LIABILITY OF
THE ATHLETIC
TRAINER
 As
a Result of National Certification
and State Licensure, the Risk of
Liability for Negligence of Athletic
Trainers has also Increased.
 There
are NOW Higher
Standards of Care to which
Athletic Trainers must Adhere to.
 The
Standards form a Legal
Duty, the breach of which
constitutes Negligence
 Google
“lawsuits against athletic
trainers” and give a two-three
sentence description of one of
the cases you find.
Web Activity
REAL SPORTS
MEDICINE
COURT CASES
A
STUDENT ATHLETIC TRAINER
FOR A COLLEGE BASKETBALL
TEAM INFORMED THE TEAM'S
TREATING PHYSICIAN THAT HE
HAD BEEN "ICING" THE
SPRAINED ANKLE OF A
BASKETBALL PLAYER.
 THE
PHYSICIAN ASSUMED
THAT "ICING" MEANT
APPLYING ICE PACKS.
INSTEAD, THE TRAINER HAD
USED ICE WATER
IMMERSION TREATMENT FOR
THE ANKLE.
 THE
ATHLETE SLEPT
OVERNIGHT WITH THE
ANKLE SUBMERGED IN A
BUCKET OF ICE WATER AND
CONTINUED TO IMMERSE
THE FOOT FOR SEVERAL
DAYS.
 AFTER
DISCOVERING THAT THE
BASKETBALL PLAYER WAS STILL
USING ICE WATER IMMERSION
THREE DAYS LATER, THE TRAINER
IMMEDIATELY CALLED THE
PHYSICIAN, WHO INSTRUCTED
THE TRAINER TO STOP THE ICE
WATER TREATMENT.
 SIX
DAYS AFTER THE INJURY,
THE ATHLETE VISITED THE
PHYSICIAN AGAIN AND WAS
DIAGNOSED AS HAVING
THROMBOPHLEBITIS AND
FROSTBITE OF THE FOURTH
AND FIFTH TOES.
 ULTIMATELY,
MUSCLE TISSUE
IN THE FOOT HAD TO BE
REMOVED AND ONE
GANGRENOUS TOE HAD TO BE
AMPUTATED. THE ATHLETE
SUED THE COLLEGE AND THE
STUDENT TRAINER.
NOT GUILTY!
WHAT DO YOU
THINK THE
JURY FOUND?
THE
ATHLETE HAD BEEN
CONTRIBUTORILY
NEGLIGENT IN THE
SITUATION AND WAS
RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS
OWN INJURIES.
WHAT WAS LEARNED?
THIS CASE EMPHASIZES
THE IMPORTANCE OF
CLEAR COMMUNICATION
BETWEEN THE
PHYSICIAN, ATHLETIC
TRAINER AND ATHLETE
ANOTHER
EXAMPLE
A
STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL
PLAYER SUSTAINED AN INJURY TO
HIS CERVICAL SPINE AS A RESULT
OF AN ALLEGEDLY DEFECTIVE
FOOTBALL HELMET SUED NOT ONLY
THE MANUFACTURER OF THE
HELMET BUT ALSO THE ATHLETIC
TRAINER.

IT WAS ALLEGED THAT THE TRAINER
FAILED TO WARN THE ATHLETE OF THE
DANGERS OF THE HELMET.
THE JURY FOUND
IN FAVOR OF THE
ATHLETE
 THUS,
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A
TRAINER COULD HAVE A DUTY TO
WARN AN ATHLETE OF THE
INHERENT DANGERS OF
EQUIPMENT WHICH THE ATHLETE
MAY USE.
POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND!
 IF
THE ATHLETIC TRAINER DOES
NOT SO WARN THE ATHLETE, AND
THE ATHLETE IS INJURED WHILE
USING THE EQUIPMENT, THEN
THE TRAINER MAY BE
NEGLIGENT.
Protect against damages that may
arise from injuries occurring on
school property
 Covers against claims of negligence
on part of individuals
 Because of rise in lawsuits,
professionals must be fully protected,
particularly in regards to negligence

Professional Liability Insurance
How do you reduce
the risk of litigation
as a coach, athletic
trainer/allied
health
professional?
Reducing Risks

Preparation for activity

Conduct of activity
- maintain equipment
 Pre season exams
 Fitness levels
conditions
- assess activity areas
- monitor environmental
- adequate work /rest
intervals
- proper instructional techniques

Injury management
- physician supervision
- supervise AT students

- evaluate / treat promptly
Records management
- document dr. orders, tx plan, tx. record, patient’s
progress





Warn athletes of potential dangers
involved in sport
Supervise regularly and attentively
Prepare and condition athletes
Instruct athletes on skills of their
respective sports
Ensure proper and safe equipment
and facilities
Coach





Work to establish good working
relationships with athletes, parents
and coworkers
Establish policies regarding athletic
training facility and coverage
Develop emergency action plan
Know the medical history of athletes
Maintain adequate records
Athletic Trainer









Detailed job description
Obtain written consent relative to
providing health care
Maintain confidentiality
Exercise caution with regards to
medication distribution and modality
use
Ensure safe equipment and facilities
Follow physician’s orders, particularly
when dealing with participation of
athlete
Purchase liability insurance
Know scope of practice
Use common sense
BE A
SMART &
PRUDENT
ATHLETIC
TRAINER!


The HIPAA Privacy Rule provides federal
protections for individually identifiable health
information held by covered entities and their
business associates and gives patients an array
of rights with respect to that information. At
the same time, the Privacy Rule is balanced so
that it permits the disclosure of health
information needed for patient care and other
important purposes.
The Security Rule specifies a series of
administrative, physical, and technical
safeguards for covered entities and their
business associates to use to assure the
confidentiality, integrity, and availability of
electronic protected health information.
Understanding Health Information Privacy." Understanding Health Information Privacy. U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2014
HIPAA Privacy Law

In groups of four look further into one of the
cases we googled earlier in the lesson.

Prepare a 3-4 minute debate with two
people on one side of the issue and the
other two on the opposite

You can either write a script of how the
debate will go or present your debate to the
class.
Activity