Equipment Rule Question

[Camron Rust]

Originally posted by QuebecRef87
This is ridiculous. Why should a referee be (legally) responsible for the player's safety? If I walk in the street and see broken glass, do nothing, and then someone hurts himself on it, am I liable?! This situation may be farfetched but that's the way I see it.

Because you're not on the street but on a field of play where you are in charge of what goes on. The rules/laws of any game never supercede local, state, or federal laws. The rules can only increase the requirements/restrictions.

If you decided a field is safe to play, and it is clearly not to any reasonable person, the rules will not protect you from liability.

Also...getting sued doesn't always mean you're wrong or at fault. It sometimes just means that someone thinks they can get some money out of you (or your insurance company). By the time you've proven your side, you've paid a lot of money to an attorney.

[QuebecRef87]

I understand, and the laws in some states are probably different than those up here.

If laws don't care about game rules (which is logical in some way), why should they care about the fact that I'm a sports official, which is different than a cop or a security officer?

Also, where I live, the losing party of a trial in civil court must compensate all attorney and court fees. Is it the same in the States?

[phatneff]

Thanks, Camron. At least someone understands what I'm talking about!!