Personal liability for AD's, Coaches, et al.?
Posted on: August 10, 2020 at 12:31:06 CT
ScottsdaleTiger MU
Posts:
12769
Member For:
26.44 yrs
Level:
User
M.O.B. Votes:
0
Some of the stories about whether or not college football will be played this fall contain language that the AD's, et al. have said they can not assure the safety of the players, can not assure them that they will not be infected by the covid virus.
If memory serves, following Aaron O'Neal's death in 2005, his family and/or estate were precluded from suing Mizzou (if memory serves because it was a public institution and therefore exempt from suit under general legal principles) but were allowed to sue a number of individuals.
One wonders if one of the factors in the apparent decision to not proceed with fall football is the possibility that if a player becomes infected this fall, the administrators and coaches at his institution could be personally sued on the theory that they were negligent in their development, implementation and administration of the testing and other protocols designed to identify infected players, etc.
While the potential individual defendants may have liability insurance coverage under various existing insurance policies (i.e. a homeowners polkcy), there is a possibility the coverage may not be applicable or sufficient to cover the damages that could be awarded. Further, there's the time demands and emotional toil of being sued in a highly public forum.
One just wonders if these are considerations for the persons making the decision to cancel and if so, how significant they are in the decision making process.