And, it's been proven that almost all heat related problems come from two sources: 1. unknown, undiagnosed medical condition and 2. poor acclamation to the heat prior to beginning rigorous exercise in the heat. But, it's not as news worthy to report that.

 

 

Nope. Not near as negative. Have to have somebody else to blame. I saw an email pic floating around a while back from a McD's poster that said "Blaming us for for your obesity is like blaming Hooter's that you husband likes big__________ (feel free to fill in the blank)"!! Haha

Public school systems and administrators maybe safe from legal action due to sovereign immunity but private schools and coaches at an individual level are not. I believe the JCPS was kept from being sued a couple of years ago due to sovereign immunity.

 

But insurance companies will likely be raising rates for private schools that offer football. And coaches better ensure they have insurance via the coaches card or other means. Middle schools coaches need to be very wary since officially the HS coaches card explicitly does NOT cover middle school activity. This insurance need is one of the key things the KYMSFA highlights to its members.

Public school systems and administrators maybe safe from legal action due to sovereign immunity but private schools and coaches at an individual level are not. I believe the JCPS was kept from being sued a couple of years ago due to sovereign immunity.

 

But insurance companies will likely be raising rates for private schools that offer football. And coaches better ensure they have insurance via the coaches card or other means. Middle schools coaches need to be very wary since officially the HS coaches card explicitly does NOT cover middle school activity. This insurance need is one of the key things the KYMSFA highlights to its members.

 

Football is a dangerous sport. It has become increasingly dangerous as everyone has become bigger, faster, and stronger. Due to the public limelight that football is held, we have become increasingly aware of concussions. With all of that being said, American football is a "huge" (for lack of better words) business in our country....lawsuits are equally huge. Neither of them are going anywhere. Negligence should be something addressed from NFL down to youth football. It begins with parent choice to player choice to professional choice. Do I believe football below the the collegiate level will be affected by concussion lawsuits?? Maybe...But football has a particular nature in which it is meant to be played, it is not for everyone....never has been. I truly hope that the game is not damaged. Players know the risk, parents know the risk. Coaches, take care of your kids like they were your own.

Football is a dangerous sport. It has become increasingly dangerous as everyone has become bigger, faster, and stronger. Due to the public limelight that football is held, we have become increasingly aware of concussions. With all of that being said, American football is a "huge" (for lack of better words) business in our country....lawsuits are equally huge. Neither of them are going anywhere. Negligence should be something addressed from NFL down to youth football. It begins with parent choice to player choice to professional choice. Do I believe football below the the collegiate level will be affected by concussion lawsuits?? Maybe...But football has a particular nature in which it is meant to be played, it is not for everyone....never has been. I truly hope that the game is not damaged. Players know the risk, parents know the risk. Coaches, take care of your kids like they were your own.

 

 

So you're saying parents and players are intimately aware of Second Impact Syndrome? Repetitive Head Injury Syndrome? Post-Concussion Syndrome?

I don't think it would be that easy. I don't know of one team in my area that has trainers present for practice. Now, there are several that have them for games, but not practice and more of the deaths that I know of have occurred in practice. Now, I don't know the ratio of concussion in practice versus games, but I would venture a guess that more happen in practice then games.

 

So, in my area, the standard is to have trainers at games but to not have trainers at practice. Around the state? I don't know. But, I would be interested to know how many schools have trainers at games and how many schools have trainers at practice and games.

 

Ashland has a trainer present at every practice, and have had one present since I played.

Ashland has a trainer present at every practice, and have had one present since I played.

 

Is he/she provided by KDMC?

 

Is he/she provided by KDMC?

 

No, he is an employee of the school system.

I want to add more information based on the previous statement about insurance rates. Insurance companies are licking their chops about how much premium will need to be charged in the future for liability policies like this. Insurers need appropriate rates to have enough money to pay for losses, cover operating expenses, and earn a reasonable profit. They are very good at collecting data from a variety of different sources, especially other settlements from similar schools in the state or region. So a large suit for a "Post Concussion Syndrome issue" in Tennessee could adversely affect policy rates for schools in Kentucky (even if those schools' records are good). Future conditions for coverage could mandate that a ATC or EMT-P be present at games and practices. However, having a ATC or EMT-P present (and paying for one) may not be enough. Here's why:

 

Legal liability is based on the tort system. There are 3 kinds of torts:

1) Negligence - 4 elements must be present

a) Duty owed another person

b) Breach of that duty

c) Connection between breach of duty and the resulting harm

d) Actual loss/damages that are measurable in monetary terms

The ATC, EMT-P, coach, AD, etc. could be accused of being negligent if they don't run the right tests or run them properly to evaluate hurt players. This is very dicey because players react very different to similar violent contact. "I'm OK, coach, send me back in!"...then player collapses 10 minutes later.

2) Intentional torts - if a person forsees (or should be able to forsee) that his or her act will harm another person. Key here is that malicious or hostile intent does NOT have to present. 7 minutes left in the game, team down by 4, star QB decked by blitzing LB. Coach pressures ATC to send him back in. ATC allows it against his or her better judgment (ATC went to the same school 12 years ago and wants to see big win against bitter rival too).

3) Strict liablity - this is imposed in cases other than 1 and 2 which are deemed "dangerous" environments or situations. Could football be labeled someday as too "dangerous"?

 

Another element of legal liability may be in play too; that is, hold-harmless agreements. If school A allows school B to play on its field, school A may require school B to hold it harmless against liability. This may require school B to pay claims that it might not be otherwise legally liable.

 

A final "mine field" of legal liability is statutes. Similar to strict liability, but is based on a statute rather than tort liability. In the business world, workers compensation comes under this. A school might have to pay benefits even if the player's injury did not result from neglience. The previous mentioned "standard of care" guidelines will become a moving target in the future.

 

OK...now a quick lesson on the basic types of damages.

1) Special damages - out-of-pocket costs such as medical expenses and loss of earnings

2) General damages - intangibles such as pain and suffering

3) Punitive damages - awarded to punish or make an example of the wrongdoer

 

Regarding long-term harm to players, lawyers will be looking at the "occurrence". This is not just a single event. An occurrence is "an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general harmful conditions." So, the intent here is to cover events that happen suddenly and results in immediate bodily injury or for any adverse condition that continues over a long period and eventually results in bodily injury. So, considering any statutes of limitations, one can see how cases can come up for occurrences that happened in the past and are proven to have caused further injury later.

 

I work for an insurance company. I love football on all levels. I have the same concerns expressed by those writing such articles and those who post in this thread. I am not an alarmist. However, the availability of insurance coverage (and the cost) will become greater than the cost of having trained medical personnel on site. All it takes is a few cases with punitive damages to blow some huge holes in the bottom of the ship. The kind of examples that Clyde mentions? Insurance companies and its customers will not win a lot of those! The more they lose, the higher the rates go.

 

No insurance coverage - no football program.

Edited June 21, 201214 yr by nkypete

I just left a coaching clinic that addressed the issue.

Things discussed included all the news and magazine article.

It was brought up that the "majority" of these articles are directed toward the female population, specifically a mother's perspective.

It was noted that in the past 5 years, the number of football players in the US has decreased from 4.2 million players to 3.5.

Pretty significant.

How much of that decline is due to Mom' not letting Junior play?

 

Also discussed was the NFL's stance and the company line, most specifically what the lawyers are telling league reps to say.

Lawsuits, talk of the dangers of the game, changing the rules of the game and improving equipment are what discussions are centered around.

 

What no one is talking about, at least no in public (this clinic being the exception from my perspective),

is how to train the athletes (youth through NFL) to be physically prepared for the violence of the game.

 

Education and PROPER training is crucial in this area because the future of the game we know today is in jeopardy.