John Sadler Quoted in "Rough Notes"

Source: sadlersports.com - John Sadler Quoted in "Rough Notes"
Author: John M. Sadler

The April 2016 issue of Rough Notes magazine featured an article on the competitive market of amateur sports insurance. Rough Notes is a leading trade magazine for insurance agents that often turns to John Sadler for his insight into sports-related industry trends and issues.

With regard to insurance service and risk management in this segment of the insurance industry, Sadler was quoted saying, “For the third year in a row, the biggest issue of concern in amateur sports insurance is brain injury in the concussion-prone sports. While most carriers haven’t actually seen an influx of brain injury claims activity on the amateur side, they’re being cautious.”

Sadler is referring to the response to ongoing reports in the media of professional athletes diagnosed with CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) following their autopsies and researchers looking into the possible link of contact sports to CTE in living athletes.

“It’s feared that adverse media attention will negatively impact juries.The recent Pop Warner settlement has not helped in this regard; however, many recent court rulings in this area have been favorable to sports associations,” said Sadler.

Sadler was also asked  about rate increases, which he says are running in the range of 0 to 8% for accounts with good loss histories. “High-risk concussion sports are seeing slight rate increases and coverage reductions. Carriers want to limit their exposure on this still-difficult-to-quantify risk by excluding it altogether, lowering aggregates and/or including defense within limits, and they’re also requiring certain risk management controls as a pre-condition of binding.”

He also addressed the issue of risk that comes with the social element of sports and clubs, saying, “While most of these clubs do have policies in place to help cover potential injuries and to protect and defend against any potential lawsuits, there could be gaps. This is particularly true where a liquor liability exposure exists.”

The digital version of the article can be found online here.

---

Source: Dave Willis, “Amateur Sports: Competitive Market, Emerging Risks.” www.roughnotes.com. Vol. 98, April 2016.

Read Full Story: http://www.sadlersports.com/blog/p16127/

5 Elements of Good Officiating

Source: sadlersports.com - 5 Elements of Good Officiating
Author: John M. Sadler

Navigating conflict resolution in sports

It may seem ironic to have a discussion on conflict resolution in sports when sports are by their nature all about opposition. But sports officials deal with different types of conflict in the course of their duties, most frequently with coaches.  

A coach’s goal is to win. An official’s goal is to mediate fair play. These two goals often result in conflict, especially if a coach’s attitude is to win at all costs. So it’s not surprising that differences of opinion sometimes result in tempers flaring, harsh words being exchanged, and even physical altercations. But officials can approach these conflicts using the following approaches to effectively minimize or resolve clashes.

1. Professionalism: Presenting yourself as a professional includes your physical appearance and knowledge of the game. Arriving to the event early in a clean uniform is the first step in making a good impression and gaining respect. Knowing the rules is paramount. Officials can be excused for missing a call, but not for misinterpreting or misstating the rules. Coaches, players and spectators know when an official is prepared and working hard on the playing field.


2. Approachability: While officials are the authority figure, players and coaches need them to be approachable when conflicts arise. Discussions should not be taking place over every call, but valid questions should be allowed to be voiced respectfully, which usually defuses tensions. Coaches who dispute a call typically just want to be heard, since reversals are rare. When agreements can’t be reached, the goal should be to at least agree to disagree so play can resume peacefully. A coach’s perspective of the issue is usually different from an official’s. It can be helpful to listen and let him or her know you understand their point of view, but are guided by the rules (see point 1) and that there are channels for lodging official complaints after the game.


3. Communication: Approximately 55 percent of the information we communicate is transmitted non-verbally, which means we use facial expressions, eye contact, gestures and posture.  A fuming coach may not be saying much, but his or her body language is speaking volumes. Officials should be paying attention to the non-verbal messages being relayed by players and coaches before they boil over and become verbally abusive or even physical in nature. Listen with your ears and your eyes.


4. Emotional control: Conflicts often result in emotional responses that can even draw in people not directly involved in the issue, such as players and spectators. You can’t control how these people will respond to a situation, but you can control your own response. The responsibility of the official is to calmly settle confrontations, not become embroiled in them. This can be difficult when the official is the target of anger and blame. But counting to 10 before responding can go a long way in keeping things from escalating. Barking orders for coaches to calm down or get off the field or deflecting blame onto a fellow referee (“I didn’t make the call.”) erodes everyone’s respect for your authority and only serves to inflame an already tense situation.


5. Humor: Poking fun at yourself or the general situation can be an excellent way to break up tension and win people over. It might not resolve the actual issue, but humor is is a universal stress reliever. This doesn’t mean laughing at the coaches or making light of a valid conflict, but laughing with the coaches put you on a level playing field and shows that everyone is doing their best in his or her role.

Many of the tense situations referenced above should never occur in the youth or school sports context if coaches and parents follow the various codes of conduct that are published by governing and sanctioning bodies and similar organizations. Also, the suggested techniques can help to diffuse situations before they boil over. However, the reality is that heated disputes often occur in the sports context. A quick study of the loss runs of our sports insurance clients indicate too many fights and resulting serious injuries and lawsuits between officials and coaches or spectators. The alleged aggressor can either be the official or the coach or spectator.

If the alleged aggressor is the official, such official will likely be seeking General Liability and possibly Accident protection through membership in a national association or coverage for officials under the local league policy. Claims may be unexpectedly denied by the General Liability carrier if the Assault & Battery exclusion is present on the policy. For that reason, we recommend that this exclusion be removed.

Sadler Sports Insurance offers affordable, high quality Accident and General Liability coverage for umpire/referee associations. We offer instant online quote/pay/print for this type of coverage. Please visit our website or call us if you have any questions.

---

Source: Jimm Paull. “Conflict Resolution and the Basketball Official,” Sportorials. January, 2016.

Read Full Story: http://www.sadlersports.com/blog/5-elements-good-officiating/

Football Leagues Ignoring Brain Injury Standards...

Source: sadlersports.com - Football Leagues Ignoring Brain Injury Standards...
Author: John M. Sadler

do so at their own peril

If your youth tackle football league and its directors, officers, and coaches are sued as a result of a brain injury to a current or past participant, under what standard of care will you be judged?

The law of negligence is based on four elements:

1. Duty is owed to act as reasonable and prudent youth tackle football and cheer administrators and coaches by following the national standard of care regarding to concussion/brain injury protection.


2. Duty is breached by not following the national standard of care.


3. The breach is the cause of the injury.


4. Damages result.

 As regards the standard of care, the courts will look to expert witnesses who will testify that the standards of care are set by the recommendations of the governing body (USA Football), National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), and state concussion laws.

We have designed a concussion/brain injury risk management program for our American Youth Football and Cheer (AYF) clients that addresses most of the standards that have been set by these organizations and state legislation. See our Football/Cheer Concussion Awareness Risk Management Program (short form) in our risk management library.

If you want to see how standards work in an actual brain injury litigation case, see the synopsis and summary of the pending Chernach vs. Pop Warner lawsuit by a law firm specializing in brain injury litigation. Ask yourself how you think your local association would fare in its legal defense if a similar claim were to be filed? In my opinion, most of the allegations in this lawsuit seem to be without merit, though legal defense costs will be high. Very few of the concussion standards were in place at the time of the alleged injury and the plaintiff was exposed to high school football and 12 years of wrestling in addition to youth tackle football.

However, concussion brain injury standards are certainly in place now. Ignore the standards at your own peril.

Read Full Story: http://www.sadlersports.com/blog/football-leagues-ignoring-brain-injury-standards/

Injuries at Gyms and Homes

Source: sadlersports.com - Injuries at Gyms and Homes
Author: John M. Sadler

Thousands suffer in pursuit of fitness

Fitness Instructor Insurance and Health Club Insurance is in high demand due to frequent gym injuries.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the following injury statistics occurred in 2009:

*  1500 emergency room visits resulting from equipment related

mishaps in gyms

*  50,000 emergency room visits from home exercise equipment

incidents including treadmill falls, exercise ball falls, elastic stretch

band hits to face, and dropping free weights on feet.

*  Treadmills are the number one cause of equipment related injuries

with 575 occurrences of falling off, tripping over, and tripping on.

*  Weight machines and free weights caused 224 injuries.

*  Common gym equipment related injuries include broken ankles,

fractured arms, fractured legs, and fingertip amputations.

Fitness instructors cite the following reason for gym/exercise related injuries:

*  Inattention due to Ipods, cell phones, and reading.

*  Using equipment for the first time without proper instruction

*  Working out too hard, too soon after a period of inactivity.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35127528/ns/health-fitness/

Read Full Story: http://www.sadlersports.com/blog/thousands-injured-in-gyms-and-at-home-in-pursuit-of-fitness/