Legal Liability

1. Legal Liability

2. Liability • Someone at fault • This fault leads to or causes injury or death • That someone above is legally responsible for the injury or death

3. Negligence • Failure on part of the PE teacher to act in a manner that is judged • Reasonable • Careful • Prudent for someone with that level of training/status • Prudent or reasonable principal • Negligence must be proven in court

4. Proving Negligence • Established duty • Breach of duty • Nonfeasance • Malfeasance • Misfeasance • Foresee-ability • Damage • Proximate cause

5. When in an Injury not Negligence? • Contributory negligence • Proximate cause • Act of God

6. Considerations for Safety • Do you know the student with disabilities? • ID specific health/medical problems (send home medical information form). • Learn about each child’s specific disability and learning characteristics as they relate to safety (medical form). • ID any contraindications/restrictions to activity • Talk or communicate with child’s parents.

7. Considerations for Safety • Get involved in the IEP process • Attend IEP meetings. • Share your concerns for PE with team. • Provide specific information about your program to team. • Help write the PE portion of the IEP. • Talk with specialists who work with student.

8. Considerations for Safety • Conduct formal and informal assessment • Note behaviors that relate to safety • Note cognitive delays that relate to safety • Note sensory problems that relate to safety • Determine motor abilities as they relate to safety • Determine fitness as it relates to safety

9. Considerations for Safety • Examine the Teaching Environment • Is movement space adequate? • Are there clear, easily recognized boundaries? • Is equipment set up in a safe manner? • Accessibility - including lockers, playing fields? • Exits (easy for child with physical disability to leave gym; problems with runners)

10. Considerations for Safety • Equipment • Check equipment for adequate repair. • Availability of adapted equipment (and do you know how to use it). • Wheelchairs (do you know how to quickly and safely get child in and out of w-chair). • Demonstrated to class how to use equipment safely.

11. Considerations for Safety • Utilize safe teaching techniques • Establish safety rules (and make sure all students understand these rules)? • Plan for adequate supervise all areas. • Modify instruction as needed so all understand. • Adequate time for proper warm-ups? • Age appropriate activities - children are not participating in activities beyond their abilities?

12. Considerations for Safety • Modifications to content to insure safety • Use multi-level curricular selection techniques to promote safe participation • Utilize curricular overlapping techniques to promote safe participation • Utilize alternative curriculum including pull-out to promote safe participation

13. Emergency Plan • Preparation • ID kinds of injuries and emergencies • Learn emergency care for each • Create incident reporting system • Examine medical info; talk to parents & SPED • Plan • Create written emergency plan • Write out detailed protocols for dealing with specific emergencies and for seeking assistance

14. Emergency Plan (continued) • Learn and Rehearse • Each staff member/student knows role. • First aid equipment is routinely checked/ready. • Staff members know how to use equipment. • Plan developed with input from community emergency medical crews (approx. time to reach medical facility is determined). • Plan in rehearsed.

15. Emergency Plan • Follow-up • Follow-up procedures for seriously injured person exists and are used. • Parents are notified in uniform manner. • Means to work with media exists and are used. • Entire system is known by all, rehearsed often, and updated as needed. • Legal counsel are invited to review system.