Very Serious Injury
 

I am just wondering, What happens when a player gets seriously injured from rough play?

Being a vague as I can be, we had a player ( girls middle school aged ) fell to the floor during a play broke her neck. She is now in The Intensive Care Unit.

I would not be surprised to see the family try to bring a law suit against, the officials? the School? I don't know who. But girls at this age foul and foul and foul. It is not unusual to have 40 plus fouls and 20 plus jump balls.

Has anyone been involved in anything like this? I did not referee this game, but I have friends who did. I also do referee games like this. It has me concerned.

Thanks.

Very complicated situation.
In a nutshell:
The officials will most likely be named in the law suit. They will have to lawyer up. HOPEFULLY they have coverage for this (our association provides this and I THINK NASO does as well but not sure) There is a chance that their names will be thrown out of the law suit. There is also a chance that their counsel will settle to avoid the cost / time of court while admitting no fault.
Any and all game film will be under subpoena. I would STRONGLY advise that the two officials speak to no one but their lawyers about the game and immediately write down (noterized would be nice or just forwarded to their lawyer) EVERYTHING they can remeber about the game and incident. Over time memories fade and you "misremember". It would be a nice starting point for their defense.
Hope that helps a little.

"Anybody can sue anybody for anything."

Judge Joseph Wapner

Having said that, and having read discussions on the subject here several times, I have yet to hear/read anything that would give such a suit against any official any merit.

JAR a lot of it would have to be what the video shows. Since neither of us have seen it, then I would not say there is no merit to them being in the law suit.

From past experience, these girls have very few skill and just beat up on one another game after game.

They are the hardest to officiate.

I had one game that was 11-12 in Double OT with 50 fouls and not a single basketball. ALL FREE THROWS.

No matter what the video shows, the officials are not responsible for injuries, in spite of what the fans say: "Y'all are gonna let somebody get hurt out there!"

And you know this because.....

If we are not responsible, why do we carry insurance?

You're out of order! The whole trial is out of order!
 

What about negligence? Official observes a kid with a metal splint on his finger, examines it, and mistakenly allows it. In the game the metal splint pokes out the eye of another player.

What law was broken?

I know that JrHi games are basically scrums. BUT, if the video shows you were negligent in your duties, you could be in trouble. The first question the officials are going to be asked is this "How did she end up on the ground?" If you can't answer that, it will be EASY to prove negligence on the officials part. If the player went down due to some type of retaliation from the other player, negligence/standard of care again. No we don't "cause" injuries but we can be held responsible.

We are talking about a CIVIL lawsuit, not a CRIMINAL one. Proof of negligence in your duties is grounds for a judgement against you.

I'd like to see a written definition of negligence in officiating a jr. hi or below basketball game.

A guy is speeding 100 mph and has a wreck. Is the cop who was on duty responsible?

It depends. Was the cop chasing them? Did the speeder pass in front of an officer who was monitoring traffic? Were other people involved in the accident? What types of and how many injuries were there? I mean, Barney Fife guarding the bank with his one bullet will not be held negligent for an accident with injuries on I - 95
There is a reason that police departments now have STRICT regulations regarding high speed chases. That is because they HAVE been found as contributory to accidents in these type of chases.
As far as JrHi or below level of basketball, what difference does that make? An officials responsibilities are the same whether it is a college game or an itty bitty league game

I'd agree wioth the "get a lawyer" advice, and documenting, while it's still fresh in their minds, the incident. Then, I'd follow the lawyer's advice, and not anything (unless it's coinicdentally the same) you read here -- includign the advice in the first sentence of my reply.

If that cop observed him speeding and chose not to enforce the speed limit, then yes, he could be held to some level of culpability.

What difference does it make?

Because of the headaches involved. jar is right, as far as I've read, the number of officials actually declared liable for injuries during play is zero. Insurance is so we get legal representantion for the time it takes the judge to throw our names off the list of defendants.

This could be a case against us. But it hardly applies to the OP.

Billy's post was in response to the question as to why we would need insurance.

No eggnog, just Tramadol.

Was the player pushed? Struck? Or did she just fall on her own?

The best case scenario (legally) would be that she just lost her balance and fell on her own.

SNAQ I somewhat agree with you. However, the cases that are brought against officials and settled out of court are not often reported as part of the agreement. Fortunately for us (officials) courts seem to be very lenient/forgiving/ and have not shown an overwhelming desire to pass judgements against officials. But to get the the jury point takes A LOT of money

Hence our need for insurance in spite of the lack of any actual rulings against us.

I don't see how whether or not the player was pushed/struck would make a difference in regards to liability of the officials unless there was video showing that officials were allowing those kinds of action to occur without being penalized the entire game.

IMO the only thing that would matter about how she fell would be if there was an unsafe playing condition that the officials "should" have been aware of prior to the incident.

I would love to see argument/documented cases for a sports official being held legally responsible for an injury caused by the actions of participants. Especially, in a situation like the one referenced in the OP.

Most parents have to sign liability waivers that include assumptions of risk as part of participating in any sport. Like others have said, this is America, you can sue anybody for anything. But I would bet good money that the overwhelming majority of cases of this nature are thrown out before they ever see a court room.

Here's a link with some info on these types of lawsuits:

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?ui...04&topic=10902

No, the cop didn't see him. Kinda like a lot of things in a jr. high game.

Bad News For Me ...
 

Good news for all Forum members. All the holiday nog is gone.

This. Players foul each other and end up on the ground all the time. Unless the officials were negligent or put the injured player on the ground themselves, I don't know how they could be found liable in a civil suit. If that was the case, football officials would be constantly fighting lawsuits.

Terp fan, I would suggest sending a PM to Texas Aggie. He's an attorney.

Thanks for the advice. We have a lawyer who works with us as an official also.

I do not know any details of the game.

It does make you think.

Because even if a lawsuit gets thrown out (which it will except in the case of gross negligence) it costs money to defend yourself. Anyone can get sued.

I belong to NASO and I have an umbrella insurance policy. The main reason is to have someone else with skin in the game so they provide the lawyers I'd need *if* I get sued.

In our state, we are required to file a report with the state within three business days of this type of incident. My first e-mail would be to my assigner giving him the heads up that there was an incident and that I will be filing a report. I would then contact NASO's Membership Information and Consulting Program since I am a member. Then I will file the report within the required time frame.

These types of things are why insurance is a great idea and at a relatively cheap price, I think it is crazy not to have it.

I've observed numerous games over the years where the officials just want to get the check and get out...not calling contact that should be a foul because it will stop the clock. I could anticipate that a major injury in such a game could lead to a ruling against the officials.

If every official would call fouls, the girls will eventually figure out how to play correctly. It is the not calling of these fouls on a consistent basis that leaves the players with the idea that they way they're playing is acceptable. And it will continue until they're penalized for the contact. Sure, it will take 15 minutes longer, but only for a few games. Magically, they'll learn to play with their hands off. It will not help players with "skills" but it will clean up the game.

Tort law has nothing to do with criminal law. In the situation that Billy gave, the officials failed to enforce a safety rule and that caused a player to be injured. The officials could and should be found civilly liable for negligence in Billy's secnario.

MTD, Sr.

Failure to enforce a safety rule in this case is subject to a very wide range of interpretation, is it not?

He's What You Call An Expert ...
 

All of you should pay close attention to Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.'s post. His college roommate was John Jay, and my guess is that he picked up a few pointers from him.

Billy:

I think that you and I get all of our legal advise from IAABO's Alan Goldbeger. :D

MTD, Sr.

Yeah, in a court of civil law. Which is why we need insurance and sometimes the need for counsel.

Do you think everything will be dropped just because you don't thinks it's an issue?

For those of you who are not, I would strongly encourage you to join the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO). National Association of Sports Officials

Their consultation service is a benefit that the OP'er could use here. NASO also provides legal counsel and insurance protection to members as needed.

In the past year, I have encouraged my association's membership to join and we had a near-100% sign-up rate from our 100+ member group. The cost of the NASO membership ($99) includes many other benefits, which you can read about on the website.

I am certain there are other groups/companies/associations which offer similar services, and they may be comparable or even superior. However, my experience is with NASO and I can certainly see where they could have helped the officials in this case.

From the beginning, the fear of what will happen here is probably much greater than the ultimate outcome for the officials. Having professional advice to back you through the process would certainly reduce the stress.

I'm not an attorney. Generally, a person who plays in a sport is considered to have accepted the risks inherent to the sport. Contact and injury are a part of basketball, and while anyone can sue anyone else, I feel it would difficult to prove negligence in the situation that was described. That said, having insurance is a good idea.

Yes and No
 

Let me get a few things out of the way here before I put in my response. I am a certified paralegal, I am not a lawyer. I do know a bit about the legal process. I can only offer suggestions and nod/shake my head. SO, note, these are only suggestions available, not sound legal advice. And, for the record, civil tort was the worst part of my training for me. :|

I recall two terms being applicable to this, due diligence (in duty) and negligence. Both could be possibly used here when applied in a court room. And the biggest suggestion(s) I can offer has already been said; write it down!, talk to no one else about it esp. if the rumblings of a case are abound (unfortunate), and get some professional legal help/advice/representation.

Now, for my personal opinion. I see that if courts start keeping refs on the suit, then it will be harder and harder to recruit, maintain numbers, and get guys out on the hardwood.

TJ, I agree.

I did find out that she took an elbow to the chest area causing her to fall backwards and she hit her head on the floor cause the break to her Cervical vertebrae in the neck. I still have not heard if she has any paralysis. I pray not.

Update
 

I just found out, she is in a neck brace, for 8 weeks. No paralysis.

Thanks be to God!

Good news. Keep us posted on the legal aspects, if you can.

Great to hear that the player will be ok in a few (ok 8 weeks). Keep us updated.

Question: was there a foul on the play?

Why do you ask?

If there was no foul called, it doesn't show liability on the officials' part in any way as players get hurt playing the game all the time. If there was a foul called, it obviously didn't prevent the injury, as fouls are only called "after-the-fact".

Sorry, but it's a pet peeve of mine to have players, coaches and/or fans blame officials for injuries. Calling a foul (or not) has absolutley nothing to do with player actions; it is ony a reaction to what has already happened. And, what if an official does miss a call? It still would not have prevented the action from occuring.

The players themselves are the only ones directly responsible for their own actions. Second in line would be the coaches, as they have taught the players the actions that could possibly put them in harm's way ("If so-and-so guards you, drive hard to the hole every time!") Officials would be much farther down the list, if they are on the list at all.

Sorry, it's been a while since I've been on the top of this soapbox; I need to get down now as I'm starting to get light-headed from the thin air...

+1

I do not know if a foul was called, but I was told, she too an elbow to the upper body ( chest ), so I would suspect a foul was called.

Kind of a sidebar:

Seeing as how what we do is mostly reactive (we call what we just saw), how do you respond to "that" coach who has it in his mind that "y'all are going to get somebody hurt out there"? Especially knowing that the issue is a coaching/player issue.

I look at them like they have 3 eyes on their forehead. Then the next time one of their players breathes on an opponent I call a foul. :D