Transcript Mr. Comodeca`s Power Point Presentation

ATHLETIC TRAINERS
James A Comodeca
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
255 E. Fifth Street
1900 Chemed
Cincinnati Ohio 45202
513-977-8358
[email protected]
©2007 James A Comodeca
A PRIMER ON THE LAW
Anatomy of a lawsuit
Anatomy Of A Lawsuit
• Complaint
• Answer
• Written Discovery
Anatomy Of A Lawsuit
• Depositions
• Motions
• Trial
The Mystery Of Alleged
Negligence
What is Negligence?
What is Negligence?
• The Failure to exercise that degree or
amount of care which a person of ordinary
prudence would exercise under the same
or similar conditions
 “Common
Sense”
What is Negligence?
• That is… you should learn to expect from
others the treatment which they
experience from you
What is Negligence?
• 5 Elements of Negligence
– Duty
– Standard of Care
– Breach
– Causation
– Injury/Damage
What is Negligence?
• Duty
– Issue of Law (judge decides)
– General rule: Duty owed to any foreseeable
person
What is Negligence?
• Standard of Care
– Standard of Care v. Standard of Practice
– Issue of Fact For Jury
– Minimum level of conduct required…
What is Negligence?
• Places to find Standards of Care
• National or State Standards from Professional
Organization
• Other Trainers
• Literature
What is Negligence?
• Breach
– Proof of what happened (event leading to
injury)
– Evidence that Defendant acted unreasonably
What is Negligence?
• Causation
– But/For Test
– Fire Escape example
What is Negligence?
• Damage/Injury
– Personal Injury
– Property Damage
What is Negligence?
• Plaintiff Must Prove All Elements Or Lose
• Other Defenses Available
• Assumption of the Risk
– Knowledge
– voluntariness
What is Negligence?
Now That You Know The Elements
Of Negligence ……. How Is It
Proven?
What is Negligence?
• Evidence
• 2 Types of Evidence
– Direct
– Circumstantial
What is Negligence?
• 3 Forms of Evidence
– Written
– Oral
– Physical/Objects
What is Negligence?
• Am I A Target?
• Isn’t What I Do Obvious?
• Nothing Can Go Wrong?
Nothing Can Go Wrong?
Nothing Can Go Wrong?
photo from www.marineporttraining.com/accidents
Nothing Can Go Wrong?
• Actual warning on this
fishing lure:
• Harmful if swallowed
Nothing Can Go Wrong?
Nothing Can Go Wrong?
Nothing Can Go Wrong?
Nothing Can Go Wrong?
Nothing Can Go Wrong?
What are these two thinking?
Provided at hearing by an OSHA
Area Director
Nothing Can Go Wrong?
Nothing Can Go Wrong?
• Understand Your Role
• Document Well
• Stay Within Your Expertise
Key Definitions
• Athletic trainer
• Supervision
• Supervising physician
• Athletic injury
• Athlete
What is an Athletic Trainer?
• The Kentucky Revised Code § 311.900(3)
defines “athletic trainer” as:
“A person with specific qualifications, as set forth in KRS
311.900 to 311.928 who is certified to practice athletic
training and who, upon the supervision of a physician
licensed under KRS Chapter 311 carries out the practice
of preventing, recognizing, evaluating, managing,
disposing, treating, reconditioning, or rehabilitating
athletic injuries.”
What is supervision?
• “Supervision” means advising, consenting
to, and directing activities of an athletic
trainer through written or oral orders by a
physician licensed to practice under KRS
311.
• Kentucky Revised Code § 311.900(7)
Who qualifies as a supervising
physician?
• A “supervising physician” means a
physician licensed by the Kentucky Board
of Medical Licensure.
• Kentucky Revised Code § 311.900(6)
What is an athletic injury?
• “Athletic injury” means:
(a) An injury or condition, excluding medical conditions
such as internal infections, internal injuries, fractures,
and spinal cord injuries except in an acute situation
sustained by an athlete that affects the individual’s
participation or performance in sports, games,
recreation;
OR
Athletic injury Cont’d
(b) An injury or condition that is within the scope of
practice of an athletic trainer identified by a physician
licensed under KRS 311, a physical therapist licensed
under KRS 327, an occupational therapist licensed under
KRS Chapter 319A, or a chiropractor licensed under KRS
Chapter 312 that is likely to benefit from athletic training
services that have been approved by a physician
supervising the athletic trainer.
Kentucky Revised Code § 311.900(2)(a)-(b).
What is an athlete?
• Kentucky Revised Code § 311.900(1)
defines “athlete” as:
“An individual, referee, coach, or athletic staff member
who participates in sports, games, or recreational
activities requiring physical strength, agility, flexibility,
range of motion, speed, or stamina, and who is
associated with a sport, game, or recreational activity
that is conducted in association with an educational
institution or professional, amateur, or recreational
sports club or organization.”
Functions of an Athletic Trainer
What are they?
• To prevent, recognize, evaluate, manage,
•
dispose, treat, recondition, or rehabilitate
athletic injuries.
A certified athletic trainer shall practice only in
those areas in which he or she is competent by
reason of his or her training or experience.
• KRS § 311.900(3)
What aren’t they?
Thou shalt not..
KRS 311.903(1)-(11)
Thou Shall Not:
• Use spinal or pelvic manipulations or
spinal or pelvic chiropractic adjustments
• Perform invasive procedures
Thou Shall Not:
• Prescribe medication, but my dispense
over-the-counter or prescription
medications only to an adult athlete and
with the supervision of a physician
licensed under KRS Chapter 311
– Must Keep written documentation per Ky law
Thou Shall Not:
• Prescribe medications, including controlled
substances.
• Dispense over-the-counter or prescription
medication to a minor.
Thou Shall Not:
• Independently bill any patient or other payer for
services rendered by the athletic trainer…
BUT, an athletic trainer shall conform to the
standard of care required of an ordinary
competent and careful certified athletic trainer in
exercising reasonable care for the health and
safety of the athlete.
So What Happens If I Violate A
Kentucky Statute?
Possible Penalties
• KRS § 311.909 lists the various
possibilities. The board:
– may revoke, suspend, deny, decline to renew, limit, or
restrict the certification of an athletic trainer; or
– may impose fines of not less than one hundred
dollars and not more than five thousand dollars per
violation, including the costs of any proceeding;
– may reprimand; or
Penalties, cont’d
• Place an athletic trainer on probation for
no more than five (5) years upon proof
that an athletic trainer:
– Knowingly falsified an application for certification or
renewal;
– Practiced or aided or abetted in the practice of fraud,
forgery, deception, collusion, or conspiracy relating to
an examination for certification;
Probation, cont’d
– Has been convicted by any court of a misdemeanor
offense involving moral turpitude or convicted of an
act that is or would be a felony under the laws of
Kentucky or the United States;
– Has become addicted to or is in abuser of alcohol,
drugs, or any illegal substance;
– Developed a physical or mental disability or other
condition that presents a danger in continuing to
provide athletic training services to patients, the
public or other health-care personnel;
Probation, cont’d
– Performed any act or service as an athletic trainer
without proper supervision by a licensed physician;
– Exceeded the scope of medical services or procedures
described by the supervising physician in the
application required under KRS 311.903;
– Knowingly made, caused to be made, or aided or
abetted in the making of a false statement in any
document executed in connection with the practice of
athletic training;
Probation, cont’d
– Aided, assisted, or abetted another in the unlawful
practice of medicine, osteopathy, chiropractics, or any
healing art, including the unlawful practice of athletic
training;
– Willfully violated a confidential communication;
– Performed the services of an athletic trainer in an
unprofessional, incompetent, or grossly or chronically
negligent manner;
 Just
to name a few…..
Critical Lessons
• Know your role
• Expect the unexpected
• Document…Document…Document
THANK YOU
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