What should I do?

ICICLE

Hi all,

I am new to Boards and recently find myself in a dilemna of sorts. A student
of mine recently suffered a broken ankle while helping out in the club. I am covered as regards insurance but am wondering should I just say nothing with regard to the medical expenses as I could leave the club open to a personal injury lawsuit. You know the way this country has gone like the states and all that. I feel that if I pay for medical expenses I will be admitting
liability. Maybe he just won't come back to our club.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

ICICLE

Ger Healy

I don’t know if this will help.

But a club that I know of had a similar situation a guy start training and ended up pulling a muscle in his leg.
Two years later a claim is made, 3 year after the claim is made the club had to settle out of court.
My suggestion would be to say nothing, as the student will probably make a claim, even if you help with the medical expenses now.

MaxBax

Sorry, did this accident happen during normal training? performing standard, typical training techniques?

ICICLE

Yes, during a routine set of exercises.

MaxBax

he can take a personal claim against the instructor for negligence. or the club its self or the person that owns the premises if it was faulty. was it really just the guys own fault/bad luck? or did he actually slip on a gap in the mat or something?

ICICLE

Hi maxbax,

More a case of bad luck in the way he landed.

Icicle

MaxBax

I'm not a lawyer so i'll just stop now. Best of luck, hope it works out well for the both of you.

Amz

Hi ICICLE, there is a legal discussion forum here on boards where someone may be better able to advise on where you stand, or point you in the direction of someone who may be able to help.

ICICLE

Hi AMZ,

I think I understand the clubs standing from a legal
point of view. I am having a problem with the moral
side of the situation and just don't know what to do.

Icicle

Amz

There's also a philosophy board.

blackbird98

I think you should say nothig except to enquire as to how he is. I have been inolved in a number of clubs down through the years and nobody has ever claimed for injuries, thankfully none were serious. I think Ger Healy is wrong to suggest that if he is a student, he will probably claim. Only the minority ever do, unless it was a serious accident. The guy is probably peed off with himself and feels like a plonker for letting it happen

kenpo_dave

What are peoples opinions of making students sign a disclaimer when they first join a gym/dojo? And do any instructors on here do it?

Just a thought,

Dave.

loz

kenpo_dave wrote:

What are peoples opinions of making students sign a disclaimer when they first join a gym/dojo? And do any instructors on here do it?

Just a thought,

Dave.

But isnt there a reason we pay insurance - so we can claim when we need the recompsent ? -

Roper

Also, disclaimers aren't worth a sh1t. U can't tell someone to sign away their right to injury insurance that they pay for.

blackbird98

re: disclaimers.

I sought legal advice on a disclaimer before, the solicitor said it wouldn't be worth the paper it was written on!! He advised that if I really wanted one, he could arrange a meeting with a barrister to draw one up, but the costs would be huge, and not feasible for a club

ICICLE

A big thank you to everyone who responded.
I think I will just deal with the situation by offering
to pay for any medical bills and hope that the person
will have the decency to realise that it was an
accident where no one in particular was at fault and
hopefully not make a claim against the clubs insurance.
If they do I'm sure our insurance premium will increase
with a resultant increase in fees to our students.

Icicle

loz

ICICLE wrote:

A big thank you to everyone who responded.
I think I will just deal with the situation by offering
to pay for any medical bills and hope that the person
will have the decency to realise that it was an
accident where no one in particular was at fault and
hopefully not make a claim against the clubs insurance.
If they do I'm sure our insurance premium will increase
with a resultant increase in fees to our students.

Icicle

why not ask your insurance co - what the increase would be due to an expect x figure claim ? - there may be no/little increase - you may be entilted to x payout per year

( i claim at leaset 1 kettle and 1 iron a year from house insureance - as i am entitled x amount of claims per period )

If my Instructor offered to pay me cash in liew of me making an insurance claim - i'd feel there was an insurance issue ( ie none ) and scare me from training there again - if you go this route - then dont let it get public - im sure the rest of your members dont want to think if they end up in wheelchairs they will be relying on handouts from you as you dont want to risk premium rises !

Roper

loz wrote:

If my Instructor offered to pay me cash in liew of me making an insurance claim - i'd feel there was an insurance issue ( ie none ) and scare me from training there again - if you go this route - then dont let it get public - im sure the rest of your members dont want to think if they end up in wheelchairs they will be relying on handouts from you as you dont want to risk premium rises !

Your instructor wouldn't give you the steam off his p1ss though...:D

loz

Roper wrote:

Your instructor wouldn't give you the steam off his p1ss though...:D

And to think i hurt my back moving mats last night !

Roper

loz wrote:

And to think i hurt my back moving mats last night !

See you in court mofo. I've already successfully defended myself against Silat Liams legal onslaught, so you'll prove no match!!!!

loz

Roper wrote:

See you in court mofo. I've already successfully defended myself against Silat Liams legal onslaught, so you'll prove no match!!!!

You wont be saying that when iv'e finished watching all my rambo nutjob cqc shredding?wtf?,kenpo4dummies and how to do doorwork - i mean martial arts educational dvd's !

kerinsp

Ooh can I make a claim too Roper? My feelings were badly hurt while training the other night. I realised I am unable to hit moving targets. It didn't help either that there was no rage or audioslave....

loz

kerinsp wrote:

Ooh can I make a claim too Roper? My feelings were badly hurt while training the other night. I realised I am unable to hit moving targets. It didn't help either that there was no rage or audioslave....

Oh you can ! - Iv'e just a spongy face so you probably didn't realise at the time you were hitting me........

Roper

kerinsp wrote:

Ooh can I make a claim too Roper? My feelings were badly hurt while training the other night. I realised I am unable to hit moving targets. It didn't help either that there was no rage or audioslave....

The Avalanches make great training music dang it. Also, I like to see people trying to do push ups with a guy shouting "you're crazy in the coconut" in the background. It's a test of their motivation.

I found an Anthrax tape someone gave me about 15 years ago the other day, I could put that on next session!:D

Ger Healy

blackbird98 wrote:

I think Ger Healy is wrong to suggest that if he is a student, he will probably claim. Only the minority ever do, unless it was a serious accident.

blackbird98 the guy broken his ankle I would consider that pretty serious as he will miss work and will have little income for a period of time and I said probably not definitely which if you can read it correctly means not everyone.