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PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVES IN COACH/SCHOOL LIABILITY

PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVES IN COACH/SCHOOL LIABILITY. BRYCE P. McPARTLAND. www.cslawteam.com 800.497.1755 509.302.8807 mcpartland.bryce@gmail.com bpm@cslawteam.com. My Perspective…. What I Hope You Get Out of This. A Practical Guide to Safety BUT, ALSO IMPORTANTLY

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PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVES IN COACH/SCHOOL LIABILITY

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  1. PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVES IN COACH/SCHOOL LIABILITY BRYCE P. McPARTLAND www.cslawteam.com 800.497.1755 509.302.8807 mcpartland.bryce@gmail.com bpm@cslawteam.com

  2. My Perspective…

  3. What I Hope You Get Out of This • A Practical Guide to Safety • BUT, ALSO IMPORTANTLY • Give You Tools to Enjoy the Experience of Coaching

  4. What This Session Is Not • Not a CYA Session • Not Delving into Legal Minutiae (e.g. elements of negligence)…much • Not Legal Advice - Ask your local school district attorney or insurance defense counsel • No Fear Mongering

  5. Going to Cover… • Most Liability Creating Situations Arise from the Same Place • Intentional Acts • Negligence • Liability Creating Times/Locations/Situations are Discussed in Your Handout

  6. KEY CONCEPTS • Keeping These in Mind Will Mitigate 95+% of Potential Problems. • COMMUNICATE • Learned in Law School: If the jury doesn’t get it, it’s not a jury problem, it’s a you problem… • PLAN • CARE • DO WHAT YOU KNOW IS RIGHT. THE REST WILL, MORE THAN LIKELY, WORK OUT.

  7. The Framework • Parents Want to Trust • Required by Law to Trust • Once Broken…It’s On. • At the same time….being a decent human being will almost invariably go a long way • Example: The Myth of Legal/Medical Malpractice

  8. What Does It Mean to Be Liable? • A Liable Person Pays Money for Harms & Losses Caused By Their Intentional Acts or Negligent Acts/Omissions…. • Ok…so what?

  9. Intentional Acts • Assault • Sex & Related Contact • As it Turns Out, Avoiding These is Relatively Easy…

  10. Ramifications of Intentional Acts • Generally - No Insurance Coverage - I.e. No IDA • Criminal Charges • Personal Assets Subject to Judgment • Virtually Guaranteed to be a Career Changing Experience

  11. Negligence… • 4 Elements of Negligence…seen them discussed in the past. • Not Especially Meaningful… • Why Not?

  12. Assume You Have a Duty… You Probably Do! Once Someone is Hurt, It’s Too Late, and… Even with a Pre-Existing Condition, Most People Will Believe it Arose on the Date of Incident Most Important Thing: Standard of Care (I.e. whether or not a duty was breached) How Do I Know?!?!? “Reasonable Person” What does that mean…. Elements Not Helpful Because…

  13. RULES OF THE ROAD(The Interactive Portion of Our Program)

  14. Coaches Also Have Rules of the Road • General Coaching Standards; e.g. practice requirements • General Athlete Medical Issues; e.g. dealing with asthma or diabetes • Sport Specific - e.g. Carabba

  15. Making the Case Against YouDetermining the Standard of Care • Other Coaches • Coaching Handbooks & Sport Specific Knowledge • Your Own Background & Training • First Aid / CPR Training • Continuing Education (including WIAA Coaches’ School!) • BTW - Don’t think you’ll just skip it!

  16. CONCUSSIONS & MISC. MEDICAL CONDITIONS • “Lystedt Law” • RCW 28A.600.190 • Put Doubts Aside • Other Medical Conditions - Treat Them Similarly • Last Week’s NBC Camp - 2 Concussions

  17. BULLYING • RCW 28A.600.480 • Immunity When Reported • Flip-side of the Statute… Liable for Failure to Report • Practical Perspective - Team Unity Issue • http://www.active.com/mindandbody/articles/Coach_s-Guide-to-Bullying-in-Sports.htm

  18. Quick Anecdotes • Wrestling Case • PE Teacher Case • Bullying Case • Over-pitching • Basketball Court Condition • Equipment Condition; e.g. football helmets • See also: Your handout

  19. STAYING OUT OF TROUBLENot Particularly Complicated… • Successful Coaching is 100% Consistent With Liability Conscious Coaching • That Doesn’t Mean Cower in Fear of Being Sued • It DOES Mean That Many of the Things That Make a Coach/Program Successful, ALSO Happen to Protect a Coach/School from Liability

  20. What Does That Mean?(This is as close to CYA as we’ll get today) • Set Clear Standards and Expectations for Players and Parents • Hint: Most people’s idea of clear is “not clear.” • “I told you/him/her/them…” sucks. • You’re notthat busy…email and respond to email. • Kill a Tree… • Be Consistent • Be Clear in Your Communications to Players (Be Doubly Clear to Parents) • If a Disagreement Arises, Involve Your Athletic Director Early. • If Something Actually Happens, Make Sure You Respond Quickly and Appropriately. • If Something Actually Happens, it is NOT CYA Time.

  21. “Your” Liability • Mentioned fear mongering early on… • Putting intentional acts aside • INSURER’S DUTY - Generally, a duty to defend for covered events (subject to policy language, nearly all acts alleged to be “negligent” will have coverage), and generally adequate policy limits. • INSURED’S DUTY - Duty to report & cooperate candidly with investigation • They are your insurance and if a claim is unreasonably denied such that your personal assets are exposed, you may have a claim against the insurer. • Westside Case (SC’s) - Did not sue teacher / 150k settlement.

  22. QUESTIONS or CONCERNS??? • Email: mcpartland.bryce@gmail.com • Phone: 800.497.1755 • www.calbomschwab.com or www.cslawteam.com • School District Counsel • Insurance Defense Counsel

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