Lesson 2: Legal Liability

1. Lesson 2: Legal Liability

2. Legal Concerns • Negligence suits involving coaches, athletic trainers, school officials and physicians have increased in frequency and amount of damages awarded • Liability • __________________________________________________________ • Must be certain you are aware of all rules and regulations relative to healthcare in a given state

3. Standard of Reasonable Care Negligence: the failure to use ordinary or reasonable care. Standards of reasonable care assumes that a person is of ordinary and reasonable prudence bring commonsense approach to the situation must operate within the appropriate limitations of ones educational background

4. Torts Legal wrongs committed against a person (liability results) May originate from Nonfeasance Malfeasance Misfeasance See P. 48 for definitions

5. May be Guilty of Negligence IF Care giver does something a reasonably prudent individual would not. Care giver fails to do something a reasonably prudent individual would not. Causes Harm Athletic trainer has a duty to provide coverage to athletes (obligation)

6. Proving Negligence Four necessary proofs (must prove all 4) • ____________________ • ____________________________ • _____________________ • _____________________ • ______________________________

7. Good Samaritan Law • Provides limited protection against legal liability to one that provides care should something go wrong • Assumes the individual would provide reasonable care consistent with their level of training

8. Documentation • Important defense against litigation • Includes: • ______________________________ • Medical data forms • ______________________________ • ______________________________

9. Documentation Hints • _______________________________ • Always write in ink • _______________________________ • _______________________________

10. Statutes of Limitation Definition Varies by state but generally ranges from 1-3 years Clock begins at the time the negligent act results in suit or from the time injury is discovered following negligent act Minors generally have an extension

11. Assumption of Risk ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Expressed in written waiver or implied from conduct of athlete once participation begins Can be used as defense against an athlete’s negligence suit

12. Does not excuse individuals (coaches, ATC) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Many and varied interpretations (particularly with minors) • Often a waiver will stand in court except in incidents of fraud, misrepresentation or duress

13. Release of Medical Records • The release of medical records can not occur without written consent • If the athlete wants records released to colleges/universities, professional organizations, insurance companies or news media, he/she and the parents/guardians must provide written consent • Waiver must specify information to be released

14. HIPAA Regulations • _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ • Provides athletes with access to their medical records and control over how their health information is used and disclosed • Athlete can provide blanket authorization for release of specified medical information on a yearly basis

15. FERPA Regulations • _______________________________________ • Protects privacy of student educational records • Provides parents certain rights with respect to inspection of child’s educational records • Can request corrections if inaccurate or misleading • Rights transfer to child • Age 18 or upon entering school beyond high school (become “eligible student”) • School must have written permission to release information

16. Injury Reports • _________________________________ • Reports can shed light on events that may be hazy following an incident • ______________________________ • All reports should be filed in the athletic training room • Filled out in triplicate depending on site • Copy to school health office, physician and one copy should be retained

17. Treatment Log • Sign-in to keep track of services • Daily treatments can be recorded • Can be used as legal documentation in instances of litigation • Subject to HIPAA and FERPA regulations Personal Information Card • Contains contact information for family, personal physician, and insurance information

18. Injury Evaluation and Progress Notes • Injured athlete should be evaluated by ___________ ___________________ • Record of the evaluation should be kept • If not available, a coach should encourage athlete and parents to set appointment with a local physician for injury assessment, diagnosis and documentation.

19. Hiring a Certified Athletic Trainer in Secondary Schools • Problems occurring later from improperly managed injuries could be avoided with proper management from an athletic trainer • According to the NATA • “…all secondary schools should provide the services of a full-time, on-site, certified athletic trainer (ATC) to student athletes.” • American Academy of Pediatrics (1998) adopted a policy recommending employment of ATC’s in the high school setting