Frontline School Liability

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Canfield Associates
Third Party Administrators Property and Casualty
Insurance Programs
Claims Professionals Personnel Experts
Risk Managers
www.canfield-associates.com
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2009 WIAA Coaches School
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Please understand that the purpose of this
presentation and handout is educational. Nothing
in either should be construed as specific legal
advice for a particular situation. Sound legal
advice requires an understanding of all the facts
of a particular situation, something that can not
occur in an educational presentation.
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Minimizing Liability Exposure in a Cost-Cutting
Environment

• Presenter Dick Langum Steve Bridge
• Canfield and Associates

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What Determines Liability?

• Four point test

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1. Duty of ordinary care

• Foreseeable
• Known or should have known

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2. Breach of that duty

• Doing something you shouldnt have
• Not doing something you should have

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3. Damages or injuries occurred

• To the individual
• To property

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4. Proximate cause

• Natural and continuous sequence of events with
• no casual element interrupting sequence and
• nothing outside the chain
• of events impacting cause
• and effect

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Determining Liability

• Duty of ordinary care
• Breach of that duty
• Injuries or damages
• Proximate cause

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Risk Management Principles

• Eliminate the RiskJust say NO
• Manage the Risk-control strategies for minimizing
  the liability exposure
• Let the Dice Roll or No risk management or
  Lets See What Happens Deal with the
  Consequences
• NOT recommended/highly risky to schools,
  coaches, administrators and those formerly
  protected by good risk management practices

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DUTY OF ORDINARY CARE14 Duties in Athletics

• Duty to Plan
• Duty to Supervise
• Duty to Assess Readiness for Practice/Competition
• Duty to Maintain Safe Playing Conditions
• Duty to Provide Proper Equipment

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DUTY OF ORDINARY CARE14 Duties in Athletics-pg.
2

• Duty to Provide Emergency Care
• Duty to Develop an Emergency Response Plan
• Duty to Provide Proper Transportation
• Duty to Select, Train and Supervise Coaches

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DUTY OF ORDINARY CARE14 Duties in Athletics-pg.
3

• Duty to Instruct Properly
• Duty to Match Athletes
• Duty to Condition Properly
• Duty to Warn
• Duty to Disclose and Inform Insurance Coverage
  Other Information
• Duty to Provide Emergency Care

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Minimizing Risk

• Know Your Role as a Head Coach, Assistant Coach,
  Volunteer, AD, etc. (job descriptions)
• Know the sport and WIAA rules, school
  policies/procedures, team and student
  handbook(s), Predict and preventforeseeable
• Know good coaching
• Plan ahead-foreseeable circumstances

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Minimizing Risk

• Documentation
  (if its not written it didnt happen)
• Communication
  (dont Lone Ranger potential liability)
• Operate within the scope of your duties
• When in DOUBT, ASK!

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The REAL WORLD!

• Practice Plansdont forget!
• Supervision more kids/less coaches
• Readiness to Perform
• Safe Playing Conditions fields, courts,
• Proper Equipment safety equipment, repair,
  replacement, reconditioning
• Proper Instruction-rules, techniques, strategies

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The REAL WORLD!

• Matching AthletesWhen I had 3 teams it was easy!
  When to use younger players.
• Conditioning practice shape, scrimmage shape,
  game shape, tournament shape
• Warning Letters and Safety Guidelines
• Insurance Does your school require insurance?
• Providing Emergency Care coachs role,
  notification of parents, EMTs, concussions,

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The REAL WORLD!

• Emergency Response Plan what services were
  available last year and are not this year?
• Transportation _at_
• Training Supervision of Coaches AD to head
  coach/ to asst. coach/ to volunteer coach

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The REAL WORLD!

• DID YOU KNOW?
• SHOULD YOU HAVE KNOWN?
• DELIBERATE INDIFFERENCE
• (IDGARRWYS,IWDIMY) (please see next slide)

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The REAL WORLD!

• If so, please bring your checkbook, title to
  your car, deed to your house, kids piggy bank
  and change of address forms to our meeting when
  we discuss who will be paying for litigation,
  liability claims and potential civil actions.

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Canfield Associates
Third Party Administrators Property and Casualty
Insurance Programs
Claims Professionals Personnel Experts
Risk Managers
www.canfield-associates.com