Sports Insurance Blog » Legal

What Should a League Do If a Registered Sex Offender is a Parent or Spectator?

admin-sh — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:37:49 +0000

In many of our national organizations, criminal background checks of coaches and volunteers are required in order to screen for sexual offenders. Throughout our risk management materials you will find that regardless of a requirement, these screenings are highly recommended. But what should a league do when the known sex offender (per public record) is a parent or a spectator?

The first direction would be to consult your local attorney since they would be familiar with the particular states laws. Also make sure that the organization is following its own rules and bylaws. The general liability policies that we write for the national organizations may require that volunteers be screened, but not the parents that are not volunteers. This is because as a general rule, only a volunteer who has repeated access to youth is in a position to “groom” them for molestation.

Whether background checks are required or not, a lot can be accomplished by educating the team/league, the volunteers and the parents on inappropriate boundary invasions. More information can be found in our article Protecting Children Against Sexual Abuse and Molestation.

Eight Year Old Sues for Hard Softball

admin-sh — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:06:29 +0000

The eight-year-old claimant had joined a softball team for girls of her age group. While playing the infield, she was struck in the face by a ball thrown by a teammate, resulting in a fractured nose. The claimant’s parents filed suit against the softball league, the coach and the child who threw the ball. The main allegation in the suit was that the plaintiff and her parents were deceived by the defendants because the softball wasn’t soft and actually was quite hard.

Court Rules Cheerleading Is Contact Sport

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:51:37 +0000

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that a cheerleader who was dropped by her male teammate can’t sue the male teammate under state law. Wisconsin has a state law the prevents participants in contact sports from suing other potentially negligent participants for unintentional injuries.

NCAA studies on catastrophic injuries support the proposition that cheerleading is the leading source of catastrophic injuries including death, paralysis, and other disabilities. The most common cause of such injuries is contact with floor and contact with another participant.

Source: Wisconsin Court Bars Cheerleader’s Injury Suit Against Teammate

Catastrophic Injury Survey In Amateur Baseball

admin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:04:19 +0000

Amateur baseball, like any sport, entails some element of risk of catastrophic injury. However, the frequency of such catastrophic injuries is surprisingly low. To summarize, the overall rate of catastrophic injuries such as deaths and disabilities is only one per one million participants.

Our insurance clients, Dixie Youth Baseball and Dixie Boys / Majors Baseball, participate in this study by completing a survey form on an annual basis that requires the reporting of any catastrophic injury. Other participating organizations include American Legion, Little League, Babe Ruth, PONY, NAIA, NCAA, National Baseball Congress, National Federation Of State High School Associations, National Junior College Athletic Association, National Association Of Police Athletic Leagues, AABC, Cape Cod Baseball, and NABF.

The final report includes eighteen years of data collection from 1989 through 2006. Participation numbers for that period of time included 82,687,876 amateur baseball players in 13 organizations. Catastrophic injuries for that same period of time included 39 fatalities, 26 disability injuries, and 30 injuries with complete recovery. The catastrophic injury rate for the eighteen years is 0.11 injuries per 100,000 participants or approximately one injury per 1,000,000 participants. This figure is very low. The eighteen year injury rate for fatalities was 0.05 per 100,000 participants, 0.03 for disability injuries, and 0.04 for serious or recovery injuries.

See Report by USA Baseball Medical And Safety Committee and National Center For Catastrophic Sports Injury Research: http://mlb.mlb.com/usa_baseball/article.jsp?story=medsafety12

Metal vs. Wood Bats In Baseball: Should Metal Bats Be Banned?

admin — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:04:17 +0000

Do metal bats pose a significantly greater risk of injury to pitchers and infielders resulting from greater bat exit speeds and associated reduced reaction time? Is there enough scientific evidence to ban metal bats for youth and college baseball in favor of wood bats?

Current scientific studies do not support this conclusion as there is no increase in the trend of significant injuries that would cause the need for the banning of metal bats in favor of wood bats. However, the final results of an important ongoing study on this issue are not yet available.

In My Opinion: Politicians looking for publicity and personal injury attorneys looking for large settlements and jury verdicts say that metal bats should be banned in favor of wood bats based on anecdotal evidence. Instead, we must look to scientific studies for an answer and so far science tells us that there is little existing evidence that would support banning metal bats that are currently approved by the various governing bodies. However, it is possible that new research may result in future recommendations for bat standards that would require certain performace modifications. John Sadler

See USA Baseball Medical and Safety Committee Position Statement On Wood vs. Metal Bat: http://mlb.mlb.com/usa_baseball/article.jsp?story=medsafety10

Should Sport Team Be Allowed To Move Up One Year In Age Category?

admin — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 22:01:06 +0000

What liability exposure exists for adminstrators and coaches who allow a younger sports team to play up in an older age category?

The following question was asked by a visitor to our website:

I am struggling with a team playing up a year in age – U12 Boys moving¦lt;br />
to U13 Boys in soccer. What are your thoughts? Any know lawsuits. I am¦lt;br />
on the board and I want to be able to answer any questions.

Our guest expert who is an attorney and professor, Gil Fried, provided the following answer:

I am not familiar with any lawsuits from a younger group moving up one age category. If they moved up several years the proportional difference in skill and size could open a door to liability. Since the potential for in jury exists at all soccer levels I would suggest that the children in the 12 year old group and their parents be sent a letter indicating the potential concern that since younger kids are playing against older kids there could be a chance for injuries. The letter should be clear and allow parents to pull their child if they are concerned without any retribution.

Source: Gil Fried, website: www.gilfried.com, blog: http://bizballz.blogspot.com/.