LAWSUIT SETTLED OVER DEATH OF KENTUCKY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER

The wrongful death lawsuit for 15 year old Max Gilpin, who collapsed at Pleasure Ridge High School in August of 2008 and died three days later, has been settled for $1.75 million.

After Max’s death, his parents sued head coach Jason Stinson and five of his assistants. 

The settlement has been confirmed to The Courier-Journal by Lawyers of both sides and states that it enclosed no acknowledgment of liability by the defendants.

Source: Insurance Journal 

University of Georgia Settles Athlete Disability Insurance Dispute

Former cornerback, Decory Bryant’s $400,00 settlement with University of Georgia athletic association finally comes after his career ended in 2003 with a neck injury.  An Athens-Clarke judge dismissed the lawsuit that claimed the association failed to secure Bryant a $500,00 athlete disability insurance policy that would have paid him in the event he suffered a career-ending injury. 

Ed Tolley, the athletic association attorney, noted that the settlement was a sign that the “athletic association had committed to helping Bryant all along”. 

However, Bryant claimed that an official of the school failed to complete the paperwork for the $500,00 policy. 

Source:

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2010/02/26/107703.htm

Team League Insurance Carrier Attempts To Deny Injury Claim

A General Liability policy was taken out under the name of  Northeast Youth Football League and its member teams and league. A certificate of insurance evidencing “additional insured” status was issued on behalf of a member team to the field owner as required by agreement. Another member team wanted to use the fields and the same certificate of insurance was submitted. A spectator was injured in a fall from a bleacher during a game for the second team. Great American E&S Insurance Company denied the claim and sought a declaratory action for its responsibility to pay for the injury.

 Great American unsuccessfully argued that the certificate of insurance did not apply to the second team since its name was not listed on the certificate of insurance. The Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, New York disagreed by reasoning that neither the certificate of insurance nor the policy included the names of any of the teams but instead listed only the league and its member teams.

Great American also argued that two separate policy exclusions would be applicable. The first was a Design Defect And Structural Maintenance Exclusion and the second was an exclusion stating that Additional Insureds were not covered for their sole negligence. However, the court reasoned that the latter exclusion could apply but said that the insurance carrier waived its right to use it as a defense since no written disclaimer was sent specifically mentioning their intent to use such exclusion.

In my opinion, had the carrier given proper notice, it is likely that they could have properly denied the claim for the additional insured field owner since the field owner was likely solely negligent in the slip and fall accident. The only way for the team to have shared in this negligence would have been due to lack of supervision or if the liability had been contractually assumed in a lease or license agreement.

 John Sadler

 Source: Rough Notes, February 2010

Thousands Injured In Gyms And At Home In Pursuit Of Fitness

Fitness Instructor Insurance and Health Club Insurance is in high demand due to frequent gym injuries.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the following injury statistics occurred in 2009:

*  1500 emergency room visits resulting from equipment related
     mishaps in gyms

*  50,000 emergency room visits from home exercise equipment
    incidents including treadmill falls, exercise ball falls, elastic stretch
    band hits to face, and dropping free weights on feet.

*  Treadmills are the number one cause of equipment related injuries
     with 575 occurrences of falling off, tripping over, and tripping on.

*  Weight machines and free weights caused 224 injuries.

*  Common gym equipment related injuries include broken ankles,
    fractured arms, fractured legs, and fingertip amputations.

Fitness instructors cite the following reason for gym/exercise related injuries:
*  Inattention due to Ipods, cell phones, and reading.
*  Using equipment for the first time without proper instruction
*  Working out too hard, too soon after a period of inactivity.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35127528/ns/health-fitness/

Should Players with HIV / AIDS Be Allowed To Participate In Youth Sports Leagues?

Should players with HIV / AIDS be allowed to participate in youth sports leagues?  We have seen an increased number of phone calls requesting direction as to whether or not teams and leagues should allow players that are infected  HIV / AIDS to participate.  Although this is a controversial subject, we hope you find our article, HIV In Youth Sports, both useful and informative.

Eight Year Old Sues for Hard Softball

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.

Source: Liable to Laugh Copyright 2004 American Specialty Companies, Inc.