According to a report by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), there are various rules that high schools should observe in sports. However, certain schools have been in violation of these federal rules through certain activities. An example is the Wharton High School where the coach allowed a player to participate in a football practice without a helmet (Green, 2017). The player sustained an injury to the head after falling on an object in the field and was allowed by the coach to go home by himself without further evaluation of the harm caused by the fall (Verdict Search, N.d.). He was later taken to hospital and diagnosed with a concussion and a fractured skull. According to the regulations by the NFHS, the school committed several violations which include lack of an immediate medical response plan and failure to obtain liability insurance coverage for athletes who were students of the school as per the bylaw by the Florida High School Association.
From this violation, the school was sued in the case McNamee v. Hillsborough County School District and had to pay a settlement of $2 million. This was incurred due to the school’s negligence for failing to have an immediate medical response for its players (Verdict Search, N.d.). The School Board agreed to start providing coverage worth one million dollars to student-athletes who would be injured during sports (Parsons, 2015). The school went ahead and paid for part of the student’s hospital bill.
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There are several things that could have been done to avoid such a situation. After the player’s fall, the coach should have ensured that he was assessed carefully and made an emergency call to get the player to the hospital for further assessment. This is mainly because the player complained of severe pain after the fall. The school should also have offered to cater for the student’s bills, as a show of remorse and to avoid the lawsuit. However, the coach should have ensured that the plyers had full sports gear before allowing them to play.
References
Green, L. (2017). 2016 Sports Law Year-in-Review. NFHS. Retrieved from https://www.nfhs.org/articles/2016-sports-law-year-in-review/
Parsons, K. (2015). School District agrees to record settlement with ex-Wharton High Linebacker. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved from http://www.tampabay.com/sports/footballpreps/school-district-agrees-to-record-settlement-with-ex-ex-wharton-high-linebacker/2251493
Verdict Search. (N.d.). Football coach’s neglect cased player’s brain injury, plaintiff claimed. Retrieved from http://verdictsearch.com/verdict/football-coachs-neglect-caused-players-brain-injury-plaintiff-claimed/
