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Medical Coverage at Races
Wed, 02/09/2011 - 12:17am
Early last season there was some discussion about medical support at races after a crash at Merco RR. The rider in question was seriously injured and had to wait (out on the road) a very long time for aid and transport to the emergency room. As I recall, his injuries were serious, could easily have been worse, and if they were, the delay could have made a bad situation worse. I have not seen any discussion or proposals about changes since then, even though the discussion generated a lot of responses and concern. Something I pointed out a long time ago (maybe to Casey?) has not gone away – the California Supreme Court has ruled that gross negligence is not covered by a waiver http://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/mag-currents/2007/08/06/82720.htm. The specific ruling applies to government entities, and though it could be a challenge, applying that to a promoter doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch - that is what some lawyers specialize in.
Today in San Francisco news comes that a half marathoner died and may not have gotten sufficient medical care soon enough. It is too soon to tell if anyone will be found at fault but it reminds me once again that we (NCNCA and promoters in NCNCA) generally speaking, don’t have our s*** together in this area (just my opinion). In some instances we seem to (I was impressed with Turlock RR identifying medical stations along its route) but in general, if someone gets jacked up, they are S.O.L.
Crashes happen and it is a risky sport, we all get that. My concern is four-fold:
1. As a recent dad I’d like to not check out too soon (My wife also says she likes having me around)
2. All it takes is a good lawyer to end an otherwise good race we all love (and a promoter’s business, and possibly their personal assets)
3. If it goes south once, insurance will go north and not by a small amount I would bet
4. If any NCNCA promoter got hit by a big-time lawsuit, we would lose 5-25 races on the calendar.
I don’t want to jump to solutions, but an extra $1 (or whatever) per rider to ensure medical coverage and therefore possibly the long-term continuation of any race seems worth it.
I realize many may not be concerned with this, some may not agree, but I would hope that NCNCA and promoters are connecting the dots on some of this news.
Ultimately, as the season starts, proper/sufficient medical coverage would be prudent at races. As a promoter, it may be in your best interest to prevent customers from becoming plaintiffs and for racers, our ample racing calendar from shrinking. I’m not trying to call out promoters in a bad way but I have been in the middle of nowhere AND big cities, seen crashes, and seen a box of band aids presented as the only remedy to some poor guy at the start/finish tent.
I appreciate that there may be sufficient insurance coverage as is, but I would hate to lose a friend because it was cost prohibitive to add an extra ambulance to Merco or any other race. We all appreciate everything all our promoters do. we are lucky to have them here in the NCNCA district, but I can't help but feel we have been dodging a bullet and it will catch up to us.
Dan Tedford
"DT" has some very valid points and suggestions for improving the chances of an injured rider to make it through a traumatic injury. I think that promoters could easily notify riders through thier flyers if any medical support will be provided at thier races. At some races there are off-duty paramedics standing by (such as Napa's Dowtown Crit) and other races have ambulances. Some races have nothing.
For the poster "Sub" to expect riders to make the drive, sometimes hours long, then just ask to find out this information is just ridiculous. If "Sub" is a promoter I would really like to know what races he or she promotes, so I can make sure I don't support someone who has a crappy attitude about rider safety. You should be ashamed of your dismissive response.
You don't have to promote a race to justify your desire for your safety. None of us want to end up disabled or dead because of inadequate medical care, and we should be able to make that decision before we show up to your event so we and our families can have one less (very important) thing to worry about while we race.
Promote a race then get back to me. Not only is one ambulance cost prohibitive for most races, multiple ambulances are out of the question. There will be multiple ambulances at Sundays RR for Merco. Realize that you have the option when you show up at a race to enquire about medical services. If they are not up to your satisfaction, you have the option to not register and race. Interesting concept I know. I'm all for having as much medical coverage as we can, heck, let's build a hospital right on site if we can afford it.
My intent was not to offend or call anyone out. but to just ask the question and point out some general concerns. rather than saying "promote a race then get back to us!" I was hoping to get a response regarding facts, numbers, etc. no ill will meant in my posting. it is an issue, so are the resources to solve it, and the incident at Merco last year was cause for alarm. we are all in this together and want the best for our sport.
DT
btw I have promoted races. never easy. and on top of an ambulance we brought in the local National Guard to use it as a training exercise for communication and medical treatment. Cost: $0.