aqualung wrote: ↑Thu Aug 13, 2020 2:13 pm
The Jackal wrote: ↑Thu Aug 13, 2020 1:53 pm
Furmanoid wrote: ↑Thu Aug 13, 2020 1:46 pm
Also, and I’m seriously curious, what is the usual award for wrongful death? Does a heat stroke death pay out less than a virus death for some reason? Why is that? If a single death would bankrupt a college, why do any of them allow athletics- even intramural?
Every state is different. In Georgia, a plaintiff can recover the "full value of the life," which for a young Furman student would be a massive number to put to a jury. Plaintiff can also recover for the pain and suffering, so if it is a situation where someone suffers injury and then lingers in a hospital bed for weeks, that's tacked on too as a
separate element of damage.
Other states, like Alabama, predominately apply a punitive damages award. Basically, the jury just punishes the defendant. I don't know South Carolina's law, but on a glance it looks like a punitive damage state.
There is inherent risk in playing football. There are plenty of risks which a player assumes just by putting on the pads. They know that. The coaches know that.
There are other risks not inherent to playing football. Serious illness or death because your school opts to play football when no one else does is not inherent to playing football.
I thought most schools would require the players to sign waivers. So would these waivers be worthless in court?
It is an interesting question, but I wouldn't want that as my only shield to liability.
At the moment, we are dealing with a "novel" virus - completely new to human history. We have very little understanding of how this virus operates, what it can do to children, what it will do in cooler weather, or what the long term effects will be.
A waiver in this regard cannot really be "knowingly" made because even the smartest people in the room don't know what to predict, so how can an 18 year old?
There's also a question of duress - "hey, sign this or you can't play and might lose eligibility."