Sports Medicine: Just the Facts

3 LEGAL ISSUES

Aaron Rubin, MD, FAAFP, FACSM

INTRODUCTION

• The advice of an attorney should be considered before
  making any legal decisions.


• Sports is a microcosm of society.


• There are rules of sports and society that must be cre-
  ated, interpreted and, at times, argued.


• Medical practice in sports is held to the same stan-
  dards as any other medical practice.
  •Legal issues in the area include—but are not limited
  to—malpractice, contracts, licensure, insurance, Good
  Samaritan laws, and confidentiality issues.


• These issues may be complicated by the practice of
  sports medicine in the public arena and the traditions
  of team and game coverage.


• This chapter is by no means meant to substitute for the
  advice of an attorney, but is presented to draw atten-
  tion to potential legal issues that may arise in the prac-
  tice of sports medicine.

DEFINITIONS

• Law:A body of rules or standards of action or con-
  duct ordained or established by some authority. The
  law of a state is found in statutory and constitutional
  enactments as interpreted by its courts and contem-
  plates both statutory and case law.


• Lawful: Legal, permitted by the law. Not forbidden
  by law, not illegal.


• Contract:An agreement between two or more par-
  ties which creates legally binding obligations to do or
  not to do a particular thing. A valid contract must
  involve competent parties, proper subject matter, con-
  sideration, and mutuality of agreement and of obliga-
  tion.


• Expressed: An express contract is openly expressed
  in writing or orally stated in distinct and explicit lan-
  guage.


• Implied: An implied contract is one inferred by the
  conduct of the parties to exist.


• Bilateral: A bilateral contract is one involving mutual
  promises between parties.


• Unilateral: A unilateral contract is a one-sided prom-
  ise where one party undertakes an obligation without
  receiving in return any express engagement or prom-
  ise of performance from the other.
  
  
  • Civil law: Body of law that a nation or state has
    established for itself. Law determining private
    rights and liabilities as distinguished from criminal
    or natural law. Laws concerned with civil or private
    rights and remedies as contrasted with criminal
    laws.
  
  
  • Criminal law: The branch of law which defines what
    public wrongs are considered crimes and assigns pun-
    ishment for those wrongs. It declares what conduct is
    criminal, and prescribes the punishment to be
    imposed for such conduct.
  
  
  • Natural law: The moral or ethical law, formulated in
    accordance with reason, natural justice, and the origi-
    nal state of nature.
  
  
  • Case law: Law based on judicial precedent rather
    than legislative enactment. The body of law founded
    in adjudicated cases as distinguished from statute,
    common law. It includes the aggregate of reported
    cases that interpret statutes, regulations, and constitu-
    tional provisions.
  
  
  • Tort: A wrongful injury, a private or civil wrong. A
    tort is some action or conduct by someone (defendant)
    which causes injury or damage to another (plaintiff).
    Torts may be intentional(when the defendant intends
    to violate a legal duty) or negligent(when the defen-
    dant fails to exercise the proper degree of care estab-
    lished by law). A legal wrong committed on the
    person or property independent of contract. It may be
    either (1) a direct invasion of some legal right of the
    individual; (2) the infraction of some public duty by
    which special damage accrues to the individual; or (3)
    the violation of some private obligation by which like
    damage occurs to the individual.
  
  
  • Negligence: The inadvertent or unintentional failure
    to exercise that care which a reasonable, prudent, and
    careful person would exercise; conduct which violates
    certain legal standards of due care. Negligence consti-
    tutes grounds for recovery in a tort action, if it causes
    injury to the plaintiff.
  
  
  • Liability: Any type of obligation or debt owed to
    another party. An obligation or mandate to do or
    refrain from doing something. An obligation one is
    bound in law or justice to perform.
  
  
  • Plaintiff: Person who brings a lawsuit; the com-
    plainant; the prosecution in a criminal case. The party
    who complains or sues in a civil action and is so
    named on the record.
  
  
  • Defendant: The person accused in a criminal case or
    sued in a civil action. The person defending or deny-
    ing wrongdoing.
  
  
  • Captain of the ship doctrine: This doctrine imposes
    liability on the surgeon in charge of an operation for
    negligence of his or her assistants when those assis-
    tants are under the surgeon’s control, even though the
  
  
  
  

8 SECTION 1 • GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS IN SPORTS MEDICINE