Know the laws pertaining to coaches in your state
By Jason V. Henderson
Editor’s Note: This article is for educational purposes only and should in no way be considered legal advice. Always consult with an attorney regarding individual programs and any potential liability you or your programs may face.
Most injury cases in tort law are based upon negligence. To bring a claim of negligence, a plaintiff must prove four elements to be successful. Failure to show any one of these and the plaintiff is not entitled to recover from the defendant:
- Duty. Did the defendant (coach) have a duty to act in a certain way towards the plaintiff?
- Breach. Did the defendant fail to act or meet responsibilities?
- Causation. Did this failure to act or meet responsibilities, both a) cause an actual harm to the plaintiff, and b) is the harm of the type and degree that it is fair to hold the defendant responsible for that harm?
- Damage. Did the plaintiff suffer a harm that can be expressed in monetary terms?
Duty and damage are rarely the issues in most coaching cases. The established relationship between coach and player places a duty upon the coach; the incident usually involves a clear injury to the player. In the absence of specific coaching protections or statutory immunities, coaching-liability cases usually hinge upon the two remaining elements: breach or causation.
The plaintiff first attempts to establish the standard of care the coach must follow. Lawyers commonly do this by presenting a variety of evidence, such as routine coaching practices, school/league rules, sport-governing body rules, industry regulations, and state laws. Once standard of care is established, the plaintiff shows how the coach failed to meet this obligation.