Legal Liability

1
Legal Liability
2
Liability

• Someone at fault
• This fault leads to or causes injury or death
• That someone above is legally responsible for the
  injury or death

3
Negligence

• Failure on part of the PE teacher to act in a
  manner that is judged
• Reasonable
• Careful
• Prudent for someone with that level of
  training/status
• Prudent or reasonable principal
• Negligence must be proven in court

4
Proving Negligence

• Established duty
• Breach of duty
• Nonfeasance
• Malfeasance
• Misfeasance
• Foresee-ability
• Damage
• Proximate cause

5
When in an Injury not Negligence?

• Contributory negligence
• Proximate cause
• Act of God

6
Considerations for Safety

• Do you know the student with disabilities?
• ID specific health/medical problems (send home
  medical information form).
• Learn about each childs specific disability and
  learning characteristics as they relate to safety
  (medical form).
• ID any contraindications/restrictions to activity
• Talk or communicate with childs parents.

7
Considerations for Safety

• Get involved in the IEP process
• Attend IEP meetings.
• Share your concerns for PE with team.
• Provide specific information about your program
  to team.
• Help write the PE portion of the IEP.
• Talk with specialists who work with student.

8
Considerations for Safety

• Conduct formal and informal assessment
• Note behaviors that relate to safety
• Note cognitive delays that relate to safety
• Note sensory problems that relate to safety
• Determine motor abilities as they relate to
  safety
• Determine fitness as it relates to safety

9
Considerations for Safety

• Examine the Teaching Environment
• Is movement space adequate?
• Are there clear, easily recognized boundaries?
• Is equipment set up in a safe manner?
• Accessibility - including lockers, playing
  fields?
• Exits (easy for child with physical disability to
  leave gym problems with runners)

10
Considerations for Safety

• Equipment
• Check equipment for adequate repair.
• Availability of adapted equipment (and do you
  know how to use it).
• Wheelchairs (do you know how to quickly and
  safely get child in and out of w-chair).
• Demonstrated to class how to use equipment safely.

11
Considerations for Safety

• Utilize safe teaching techniques
• Establish safety rules (and make sure all
  students understand these rules)?
• Plan for adequate supervise all areas.
• Modify instruction as needed so all understand.
• Adequate time for proper warm-ups?
• Age appropriate activities - children are not
  participating in activities beyond their
  abilities?

12
Considerations for Safety

• Modifications to content to insure safety
• Use multi-level curricular selection techniques
  to promote safe participation
• Utilize curricular overlapping techniques to
  promote safe participation
• Utilize alternative curriculum including pull-out
  to promote safe participation

13
Emergency Plan

• Preparation
• ID kinds of injuries and emergencies
• Learn emergency care for each
• Create incident reporting system
• Examine medical info talk to parents SPED
• Plan
• Create written emergency plan
• Write out detailed protocols for dealing with
  specific emergencies and for seeking assistance

14
Emergency Plan (continued)

• Learn and Rehearse
• Each staff member/student knows role.
• First aid equipment is routinely checked/ready.
• Staff members know how to use equipment.
• Plan developed with input from community
  emergency medical crews (approx. time to reach
  medical facility is determined).
• Plan in rehearsed.

15
Emergency Plan

• Follow-up
• Follow-up procedures for seriously injured person
  exists and are used.
• Parents are notified in uniform manner.
• Means to work with media exists and are used.
• Entire system is known by all, rehearsed often,
  and updated as needed.
• Legal counsel are invited to review system.