Quote:
Originally Posted by BillyMac
Do you have a responsibility, as an official, to immediately remove from the game any player who exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion (loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion, or balance problems), and to not allow them to return to play until cleared by an appropriate health care professional (not the coach)?
If so, that may come with some legal liability issues if an official doesn't remove such a player from the game, or allows said player to return with just a coaches recommendation (as in a middle school game), and they suffer more serious injuries as a result of continuing to play, or because of being allowed to reenter. That could be viewed as legally negligent behavior.
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Legal liability comes when you do not follow the state law. This is not a personal or IHSA standard, this is a state law that involved officials in the reporting. No, we are not to go looking for signs, but if a player fell on their head and gets up walking towards the stands, they can be removed from the game as if any time there is an injury. That is why states have different laws and precedents of what takes place. All we do is report the incident and it is on the schools to explain their reasoning to higher-ups if they are let back in the game. The schools have an entirely different procedure they have to follow in order to be in compliance. Even if a school does not have a trainer or some medical doctor, then that just makes the entry of the game problematic. But if they say, "Mr. Williams allowed him to play" and they find out Mr. Williams is not a registered medical professional that can diagnose concussions, then that is on the school. We do not verify their credentials and doubt seriously we would even be liable if we reported the incident. Even if you did not report the incident, we do not have access to players that teams do. Part of the reason you have insurance in the first place is to deal with issues of liability. That did not change because of a law. It was already there. It is a requirement by law to have trainers and medical people at all contests with youth. There are things they have to do regardless of our role which honestly did not change. I am saying this as a person that officiates football and once did baseball and softball.
There was a famous case where an official in Texas ran into a football coach and the coach was in a coma. Long story short the coach got hurt and was the only one hospitalized, but the insurance company went after the officials for not enforcing the sideline rules. That is not state law, but because the officials were accused of being negligent by the insurance company, they had to deal with a lawsuit. The lawsuit was thrown out, but involved some time to litigate. That had nothing to do with a state law but an accusation of negligence. I am sure if someone thought you did not stop the game because of an injury and the injury was bad, I am sure you would could be sued either way if someone felt you did not stop the game properly. You are not a doctor there either. And I work for an insurance company so I can tell you that if liability is in question, they can and will sue to regain their costs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BillyMac
Thanks to our State legislature, we don't have that problem here in Connecticut. If a coach allows an inured player to continue, or to renter, that's 100% on him, and he can get sued, he's trained, he's certified, and not covered by Good Samaritan laws.
Not a Connecticut official's job legally. We're not trained, we're not certified.
Also, regarding teachers reporting abuse, it may certainly be different in your area, but in Connecticut, and in many other states, teachers are mandatory reporters. It's not that they CAN report suspected abuse, it's that they MUST report suspected abuse, or be subject to criminal arrest for not reporting suspected abuse (up the legal ladder), and we've had a few arrests in Connecticut for such irresponsible and negligent behavior.
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When Hank Gathers died, multiple doctors and administrators got sued. Many people had nothing to do with his death or diagnosis and that included doctors in the gym at the time. I do not know what problem you think you are absolved from, I bet if you let a kid play that might have been suffering from something and they get further hurt or die, someone could decide you are not doing your job. Again, it does not mean they are right, but nothing you said eliminates your potential liability or assumption of liability. A law just has to be challenged in court. Until then, the procedure is irrelvant.
Peace