Risk Management and Negligence
Friday, October 8th, 2010 | Assignments for TLEP 4830
1. Do you feel an entity or individual demonstrated negligence in the facts presented in either the Popke or Steinbach article?
I feel both the articles have some negligence in them, whether it is the cause of someone else or because of the lack of duty. According to our class discussion given on September 21, 2010 negligence is an unintentional tort that injures an individual in person, property or reputation. With that said I still feel that each article has negligence and in some instances pure accidents in my opinion.
The cheerleading article by Michael Popke, I felt was done very well. Cheerleading can be a very dangerous sport and in the fatal accident of Ashley Burns I feel it was not anyone’s negligent act that caused her die. Later in the article there was a brief write up about the death of a cheerleader who was not caught by her teammates. While I am sure the girls teammates did not purposely let her fall, it was in my opinion still a negligent occurrence. Whether she fell thorough due to someone was not paying attention or she being too heavy for the team to carry, her teammates could have prevented it in some way. Since I am unsure of the situation specifically I can only state options that could have prevented the accident such as, having had more lifting practice, having a head coach help to catch the flying girl, and having made sure all the girls were awake and paying attention to the practice.
In the article about field event safety in track and field written by Paul Steinbach, I feel that multiple of those accidents easily could have been prevented and were caused due to individual negligence. The article beings with a man who died due to a blow to the head from a shot put, the man, who himself was a 30 year officiating veteran of the sport, was standing in the way of the shot put sector. To me, this man is definitely at fault. He is a veteran of the sport, knows the injuries that could occur and knows the boundaries of the shot put area. It was part of his duty to be paying attention to who was throwing at the time and where the shot was landing. It is unfortunate to have lost him in this manner but I truly feel he should have known better than to walk in the area during the practice.
Another accident within that article was a 12th grader who threw his shot, went to retrieve it, and got hit in the head by a teammate throwing another shot. I would definitely categorize this incident as ordinary neglect meaning, both parties involved failed to act within a reasonable matter. The 12th grader retrieving his shot should still be aware of his surroundings and the athlete preparing to throw should look down the sector before even beginning to get into position. Thankfully the senior turned out to be alright, but it is still an accident that could have easily been prevented.
2. What role do you think the facility itself plays in this case and how can risk management and the prevention of negligence be included in the facility or area design process?
I think that facilities are able to help reduce the risk of accidents and prevent negligence in certain situations. As for the incidents written about in the cheerleading article, I do not think the facility could have prevented either of those. Same goes for the 12th grader who was hit in the head with a shot put, both of these incidents I blame on the participants themselves and feel that the facility should not be held responsible. As for the man who was killed after being struck in the head with the shot put, while I do feel he should have been aware of his surroundings I do feel that the facility could have taken precautions.
In chapter 7 of our book, Facilities Planning and Design for health, physical activity, recreation and sport by Thomas H. Sawyer, the importance of signs is discussed. It is here that I feel the facility should post signs around the shot put and discus area warning attendants about potential flying objects. Signs should be posted throughout the field, where the majority of onlookers sit and watch. One way I think the fatal shot put accident could have been prevented id by blocking of the playing area with a rope. This way when participants are throwing they are the only ones allowed within the area. I feel this rope idea would also be very beneficial to the discus area too. Since discuses are throw way further than shots I feel the discus area sees more children and attendants wandering through the area.
Another object I think could be helpful t the facility is the installation of an emergency safety device, as described in chapter 2 on page 25. Since track and field sites also tend to be located near football and soccer fields, I think more than one sport could benefit for the device. Much like the blue safety lights here at bowling green, these devices would allow teams to immediately call for help when injuries occur. This would hopefully increase the chance of survival for the hurt individual.