Sports Law: Chapter 3

Risk management

A course of action designed to reduce the risk of injury and loss to participants, spectators, employees, and organizations

Unreasonable risk elimination example

Removing checking from hockey would destroy the sport; better approach is rules, protective equipment, coaching, and enforcement

Manager perspective

Must sort through experiences to decide what is relevant and reliable

Risk manager or director of loss prevention

Primary responsibility for safety of a sport facility; must know issues, policies, and procedures

Outside auditor

Conducts comprehensive exam of facility; offers fresh perspective to identify hazards

Insurance company role

Interested in limiting financial loss; considers probability and severity of harm

Lawyer role

Focus on facts and standard of care; determined by community standard, rules, policy, case law, expert opinion

Jury role

Determines whether an action was reasonable

Categories of loss

Money, time and effort, stress, image and goodwill

Risk management process

Recognition, Analysis, Action

Recognition step

Identify general and specific hazards; consider cost, resources, necessity, ethics, and objectivity

Analysis step

Consists of risk identification and risk evaluation

Risk identification

Finding hazards and determining potential liability if not addressed

Common sense in risk identification

Natural ability to recognize hazards without research

Statutory mandates

State laws requiring organizations to take certain actions

Risk evaluation

Evaluating frequency and severity of risks

Foreseeable risk

Risks where injuries occurred before, high inherent risk, or lack of participant understanding

Action step

Retention, Treatment, Transfer, Avoidance

Retention

Make no changes to current condition or measures

Treatment

Reduce risk (e.g., cover sprinkler head, add warning signs)

Transfer

Shift liability through contracts or insurance

Avoidance

Eliminate program, facility, or service causing risk

Insurance

Primary method to transfer financial risk

Self-insurance

Setting aside money to cover losses

Policy definition

Written guidance that governs conduct of organization’s activities

Procedure definition

Written statement describing implementation of rules and safety measures

Liability and procedures

If procedures exist but are not followed, liability increases

Routine maintenance and inspection

Common procedure to reduce risk

Common injury sources

Improper equipment, hazardous premises, poor instruction, poor supervision

Equipment safety

Equipment must be in good working order; unsafe or modified equipment can increase risk and liability

Premises safety

Administrators must take reasonable precautions to ensure safe environment

Inspection frequency factors

Manufacturer recommendations, injury frequency/severity, age and condition of facility, usage, regulations

Outside inspection advantage

Eliminates bias, fresh eyes, expert hazard identification

Inspection documentation

Strengthens defense in litigation

Instruction responsibility

Teach skills safely; make participants aware of risks and safe techniques

Instruction methods

Verbal, written, video, demonstration

Inappropriate instruction

Teaching unsafe methods or beyond ability level

Training importance

Certifications and training (e.g., concussion safety) required to reduce risk

Participant matching factors

Size, maturity, skill, experience, fatigue

Supervision definition

Responsibility to exercise reasonable care for protection of participants

Examples of supervisor relationships

Teacher-student, coach-athlete, recreation supervisor-participant

Emergency Action Plan (EAP)

Prepared, communicated, and practiced plan specific to facility

Crisis management

Large, negative, disruptive events threatening mission and reputation (e.g., weather, fire, terrorism)

Crisis Management Plan (CMP)

Plan for large-scale emergencies

Create planning team

Form team to identify possible risks and crises

Develop action plan

Address personnel, facility, and emergency equipment

Establish emergency communication rules

Identify outside experts to assist in crisis

Establish postcrisis communication rules

Decide who debriefs staff and who addresses media

Postcrisis reports

Determine who completes reports, when, and how contacts are made

Test the plan

Committee reviews plan event by event with schematics

Lightning safety

Follow NATA and NCAA guidelines

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Requires facilities to comply with accessibility standards