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1. Do you feel an entity or individual demonstrated negligence in the facts presented in Steinbach article? Justify your answer by using the definition and the requirements of negligence as presented in class.

Risk management is a procedure most organizations forget to plan for and is very important to be prepared for incase the worst situation happiness. Sometimes a crisis can happen even to a trained veteran. For instance Steinbach discusses with us about an incident at a U.S. Track & Field event that ended in a tragic fatality. A man by the name of Paul Suzuki, a 30 year referee veteran, walked out onto the field as an athlete threw his shot striking him in the head. It is the duty of both athletes and referees to follow safety procedures in place to protect them. Any time you are dealing with sports, especially when there are heavy projectiles being used, there is going to be a certain amount of risk naturally inherited. The cause of this tragic event was the lack of attention Paul was giving to the athletes that had already stepped into the box to practice. There was not a designated spotter for the athletes to give them the field. The damage of this accident was quite high as Paul lost his life that day. With this information I do believe that Paul ultimately was at fault as he should not have entered the playing field when he did.

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? Include at least two examples from the text to support your answers. (Chapters 2 or 7). These examples are the references for this assignment. Additional outside references are not required but are welcome.

The facility hosting the event, if did its risk management properly, should not have received complaints of negligence from the victim’s family. The fields should have had the necessary safety equipment and the staff had proper training. Paul was a 30 year veteran proving that he knew exactly how to behave at a track and field event. In the article Fishers describes the chaotic situation:

“You have a whole bunch of kids out there for a track meet. All it takes is for somebody to space out a little bit and run across the throwing sector.”

He was seen right before the incident of having a “lapse of awareness.” Although there is not much the facility can do to protect officials, participants, and spectators from these types of incidents, there are still things. A spotter would have been helpful and ultimately could have prevented the situation all together.