Daniel was an 18-year-old member of the XYZ High School gymnastics team; he was a senior varsity member, and had many years of gymnastics practice and competition experience. During a regularly scheduled practice in the Athletic Fieldhouse, Daniel suffered a serious wrist injury while working on the high bar. The injury occurred when Daniel's right hand grip failed, causing his wrist to lock in place and be slammed against the bar as his body continued to swing over the bar. Plaintiff suffered a comminuted fracture of both bones in his right lower arm.
At the time of the accident, Daniel was wearing hand grips that he had just been given by a member of the coaching staff, as he had lost his regular grips at the previous competition. Daniel stated that the new grips were the same size as his old ones, with the only difference being that the new grips were fastened by buckles, while his old grips used Velcro. Daniel had never practiced or competed with buckled grips; however, he assumed they required the same fit as Velcro grips.
Following the accident, Daniel was helped down from the bar by his coaches and teammates, where he had been hanging by his injured wrist. Once down from the bar, Daniel's coaches and teammates began to render emergency first aid. No athletic trainers were present, nor were any in the Fieldhouse at the time of the accident. Given that the injury did not impact Daniel's spinal cord, and he was not bleeding, none of the coaches or teammates called 911; rather, they tended to Daniel themselves. One of the gymnastics coaches present was certified in Red Cross Basic First Aid; that coach gave verbal first aid to Daniel's teammates who were helping him.
The first aid given by the coaches and teammates consisted of removing the hand grip from plaintiff's wrist and immediately placing ice on the injured area; again, there was no trainer present when the hand grip was removed. In order to take the hand grip off, one of plaintiff's teammates was required to tighten the straps so that he could release the buckle. Daniel said the pain from this was excruciating, and thought this action exacerbated his injury.
Within thirty minutes of the injury occurring, Daniel was taken to the emergency room by his coach. Upon arrival at the hospital, Daniel underwent extensive surgery; he required metal pins to stabilize the broken bones.
Please discuss any Risk Management concerns you have regarding these facts. What are the legal issues? You may discuss any material from this course that you think is relevant to the situation

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer of Daniel was an 18-year-old member of the XYZ High School gymnastics team; he was a senior varsity member, and had many years of gymnastics practice and competition experience. During a regularly scheduled practice in the Athletic Fieldhouse, Daniel suffered a serious wrist injury while working on the high bar. The injury occurred when Daniel's right hand grip failed, causing his wrist to lock in place and be slammed against the bar as his body continued to swing over the bar. Plaintiff suffered a comminuted fracture of both bones in his right lower arm.
At the time of the accident, Daniel was wearing hand grips that he had just been given by a member of the coaching staff, as he had lost his regular grips at the previous competition. Daniel stated that the new grips were the same size as his old ones, with the only difference being that the new grips were fastened by buckles, while his old grips used Velcro. Daniel had never practiced or competed with buckled grips; however, he assumed they required the same fit as Velcro grips.
Following the accident, Daniel was helped down from the bar by his coaches and teammates, where he had been hanging by his injured wrist. Once down from the bar, Daniel's coaches and teammates began to render emergency first aid. No athletic trainers were present, nor were any in the Fieldhouse at the time of the accident. Given that the injury did not impact Daniel's spinal cord, and he was not bleeding, none of the coaches or teammates called 911; rather, they tended to Daniel themselves. One of the gymnastics coaches present was certified in Red Cross Basic First Aid; that coach gave verbal first aid to Daniel's teammates who were helping him.
The first aid given by the coaches and teammates consisted of removing the hand grip from plaintiff's wrist and immediately placing ice on the injured area; again, there was no trainer present when the hand grip was removed. In order to take the hand grip off, one of plaintiff's teammates was required to tighten the straps so that he could release the buckle. Daniel said the pain from this was excruciating, and thought this action exacerbated his injury.
Within thirty minutes of the injury occurring, Daniel was taken to the emergency room by his coach. Upon arrival at the hospital, Daniel underwent extensive surgery; he required metal pins to stabilize the broken bones.
Please discuss any Risk Management concerns you have regarding these facts. What are the legal issues? You may discuss any material from this course that you think is relevant to the situation

Daniel Was an 18-Year-Old Member of the XYZ High School