Risk Management in sports
In the contemporary world, legal suits against schools and coaches for sports injury liability and duties of athletic personnel is the biggest challenge facing interscholastic sports. While supervision is an essential duty that athletic administrators, coaches, and sports organizations owe program participants when a participant is injured, and a lawsuit results in lack of supervision or improper supervision are among the most common charges leveled against the respondent (Green, 2015). Supervision duty requires sport organizations, coaches, and other athletic administrators to exercise a meaningful amount of care in protecting participants under their control. However, the reasonable amount of care required for supervision depends on many circumstances, including skills and physical conditions of participants, experience, age, and the type of sport played.
A good example of a lawsuit against schools and coaches for injury negligence is Donna Andreozzi PPA Nicholas Andreozzi v. Town of East Haven et al., 2015 Conn. Super. LEXIS 854 (Wolohan, 2014). Donna filed a negligence claim against Joseph Melillo middle school and the cross country coach, Ed Crisafi, for failure to ensure a safe environment for his 13-year old Nicholas Andreozzi. Nicholas suffered a displaced fracture on the radius of his left wrist after he ran into a bench placed on lane one of the running track.
To address this risk, Green (2015) suggests that there is a need to understand the extensive body of laws and regulations focusing on the need for sports personnel on the legal responsibility imposed on them concerning participant-athletics. They include the duties of supervision, technique instruction, planning, warnings, safe equipment, safe playing environment, equating and matching athletes, return to action protocol, evaluation of injuries, emergency, and medical response planning, immediate medical response, and other categories of duties intended to prevent injuries on the athletes.
References
Green, L. (2015). Top Ten Sports Law Issues Impacting School Athletics Programs. Retrieved 8 April 2020, from https://www.nfhs.org/articles/top-ten-sports-law-issues-impacting-school-athletics-programs/
Wolohan, J. (2014). School, Coach Sued for Negligence in Runner Injury Retrieved 8 April 2020, from https://www.athleticbusiness.com/civil-actions/middle-school-coach-sued-for-negligence-in-runner-injury.html