Quote:
Originally posted by Brian Watson
CPR should not be confused with 1st aid on sprains and such. If a player twists and ankle or gets busted open you are right to leave them alone. However, most if not all states has a good samaritan law, so that if you are properly licensed in CPR, and administer it in a proper manner, you cannot be sued. This is to prevent people from feeling inhibited to help in emergency situations.
This is where the Lawyers need to help answer...in fact if you are certified in CPR and you don't help you might get sued.
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As I said, if you as an official try to get involved in a situation to save someone, whether it be because they are possibily dying or just broke a limb, you open yourself up for litigation if something goes wrong. I am not saying not to help people in need, I am just telling you to be careful. Especially, if it happens to one of the participants. If it happens to another official and you try to save your partner's life, I would hope that no official would sue another official or their family because an official tried to save their life.
During this past football season. A kid got his neck broken during a football game. One of the officials happens to be a lawyer that was doing the game that this kid got hurt at. He told my association that as officials we should do nothing. Because if we do, we are opening ourselves for problems later down the line. And he even said that it would not surprise him in a couple of years if a lawyer was at his front door trying to ask him questions about this situation.
Do not get me wrong, I think helping people is a very good thing. But as it relates to injuries and and the playing field, you need to be aware as officials, we can get in trouble for many things. Even if we call something, an actions of another player can be precieved as us letting things go, and that is if we make a call. It is sad that we have to think this way, but we are in a very litigous society right now and we should always be aware of or responibilities and the consequences being in the role that we are.
Peace.