GO Indoor

g in g a n k a is M R lvi y yS n ee r eG b "F acilities need to be clean, safe and well-managed," says Brian Fox of Monuments Sports Group. "We care about our customers and don't want to see them injured." For this reason, we take safety precautions. We mop up spills in the concession area, we repair tears in our turf, we limit the number of children on the indoor playground. We want people to have a good time, which includes doing everything in our power to prevent injuries. Broadly speaking, insurance is a form of risk management. For facilities, general liability insurance is an agreement between a facility and an insurance company to hedge against the risk of bodily injury or property damage or loss. The truth is, people are going to get hurt playing sports. All that is necessary for a general liability claim is for someone to sustain an injury at your facility. Viewed from this perspective, indoor sports seems to be a risky business. After all, people get hurt playing sports all the time. Though most players accept this risk, it is still the responsibility of indoor sports facility owners and operators to protect themselves in the event that a customer makes a claim or, worse, files a lawsuit. Some facility operators think, "I am protected; I have insurance." Insurance does indeed protect you, though there are terms and conditions within the policy that policy holders need to understand. Besides, having a low incidence of claims will help keep premiums in check. An insurance policy alone is not enough. "If, for example, you have a seam in your turf that needs to be repaired, just because you have insurance doesn't mean you don't need to take care of that situation," says Brian. "When you disregard maintenance, you are increasing your liability if someone gets hurt. You're also increasing the chance that the insurance company will not be in a strong position to defend you if someone files a claim." Some facility operators think that insurance is unnecessary because everyone who comes into the facility signs a waiver. "Waivers are powerful risk management tools; however, they are not absolute. It is difficult for a waiver to completely eliminate the possibility of a lawsuit.In the event of a lawsuit, the waiver will certainly be used in court, but someone will have to pay an attorney to take the waiver to court." If you have the right kind of insurance–as indoor sports facilities have particular coverage needs–the insurance company will handle your lawsuit. In order to maintain safety and to prevent becoming a target for claims or, worse, 10 lawsuits, facility operators should consider managing their risks with inspection logs and maintenance reports. According to Brian, documentation is the key to defending facilities against claims that equipment was not functioning properly or was defective. A manager might say, "I looked at the turf last week, and I didn't find any problems." But that memory will probably not satisfy a jury or an insurance company. If a player says he was hurt during a game, that's enough to start a claim process. On the other hand, not everyone who is injured files a claim. Either way, whether the claim process begins right away or you get an attorney representation letter six months or more after the fact, a claims adjuster will intervene. Often, claims are settled short of litigation, especially if the facility has regularly performed and documented inspections of its fields, courts and equipment, and repairs or replacements of damaged parts. Whether it's several months or a year, or even two years, facility operators should have all of their safety documentation for that period. Brian believes some attorneys wait as long as possible to take legal action as a tactic; they are counting on a facility's having lost documentation or on their never having had it in the first place. A history of good documentation makes a strong case for the facility operator.

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