Man sues instructor

I'm really surprised we don't see this more often.

They gymnastics school that we teach out of gets sued on occasion by parents who are well aware of the dangers of gymnastics and have signed liability waivers.

When it comes down to it, the waivers don't seem to hold much water.

Jeff
I know that there was a case in Virginia some years back where someone competing in a triathalon decided to dive into whatever natural water they were swimming, and broke his back, ending up paralyzed to some degreel. Note that HE chose to dive; there was nothing suggesting or compelling it, as I understand it. And he'd signed a waiver. He sued. The courts held that the organizers were liable, and that the waiver had little real effect beyond demonstrating that he'd been warned. (Note that I'm working from memory, and so may not have the details correct, but the general outcome is, I know.)

But, as much as this decision worries me, I'm not willing to say it's the first peal of the bells of doom. In this case, I have to wonder what details didn't make it into the article. Even instructors with the best and most impressive credentials and resumes make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes are foreseeable. Did he make sure that the student was capable of handling the fall/hold? Did he apply it recklessly or carelessly? Or... could there have been some sort of personal animosity? Many, if not all of us, who are teachers have students who simply rub us the wrong way, at least occasionally. And, I'm confident that most of us have trained with a partner that gets a little rough for any of numerous reasons as innocent as poor control and as guilty as pure evil maliciousness. For that matter, even someone with an impressive resume may be one of those guys who tends to go hard...
 
I had a simular incident while my instructor was running a higher ranked student through teks getting them ready for their blk blt test. I was the uke, and he executed a tek I was'nt familar with. When I did'nt respond correctly he did it harder, and my left knee buckled. I felt the pain but what was worse was the look on the instructor's face. She said my leg went into kind of an "L" at the knee. I forced my leg straight asked for some ice, and after resting a bit drove "myself" to an emergency room. Turned out I had a MCL injury, and it never really dawned on me to sue anyone. By GOD's grace I still am able to do things with my left leg although it does regularly bother me. The surgery did not seem to do all that much, oh well I have a standing invitation to come, and train.

1stJohn1:9
 
When I started MA I had a talk to my wife (ex MAist as well) about this subject. As a Martial Artist I am aware of the risks I face and I would never sue my teacher for an injury...well of course unless he goes completely nuts and tries to kill me (but in that case there would be no injuries, he could kill me way too easy LOL).
In case of an accidental death I cannot say what my wife will do, because even tho she says she won't sue now, that would be a completely different state of mind-mood.
As per the accident in this thread, I have read in another forum that the teacher was putting pressure on the other knee, but not sure if it's true or not.

As a general rule I am strongly against suing the teacher. But I have known (through internet, not personally) of teachers who "love" to show off their skill and go way past certain limits in showing them off.
If a teacher shows me an arm bar, I understand I can have some pain at the moment and maybe a sore elbow for the next couple of days (happened to me with a SumiOtoshi, for who does Aikido). But if the demostration has the result that I can't move my elbow for a week and the episode happens with more students (no personal knowledge of this, just an example) than suing is not something that can happen, suing is a MUST!
 
Parker said he heard his knee pop, rip and tear, suffered excruciating pain
and blacked out for 20 to 30 seconds.

Parker eventually had surgery on the knee, in May 2004, but his knee is
still stiff in the morning and he limps for the first couple of steps he
take.

Court was told he can't ski or do martial arts, play baseball or ride his
bike off-road, has gained 30 pounds since the injury and continues to take
pain and anti-inflammatory medication.

He's also unable to work on his house or trade work with his friends and his
ability to help with chores around the house is reduced.

Having obtained a very similar injury, which ruptured the ACL and tore the meniscus in my knee, I'm curious how much he has actually tried to recover from this, or for that matter, how much was exagerrated for the sake of the court case.

I had an ACL reconstructive surgery, and was back in the dojo 6 weeks later. It took the better part of a year to completely recover, but my knee is now stronger and more stable that it was before the injury. It does ache occasionally, but it sounds like this guy has other problems (addiction to the pain meds perhaps).

The only activity mentioned that I would really hesitate to partake in would be downhill skiiing, but that's partly because I sucked at it before the injury and suspect my incredibly poor technique might overstress the joint...

If I was having the problems that this guy claims, I'd be less than thrilled with my Orthopaedic surgeon... but he probably has better legal representation than the martial arts instructor.

Oh yeah, and my injury did happen during a class, but it never occurred to me to sue my dojo for "causing" it. The only person who caused it was me.
 
Having obtained a very similar injury, which ruptured the ACL and tore the meniscus in my knee, I'm curious how much he has actually tried to recover from this, or for that matter, how much was exagerrated for the sake of the court case.

I had an ACL reconstructive surgery, and was back in the dojo 6 weeks later. It took the better part of a year to completely recover, but my knee is now stronger and more stable that it was before the injury. It does ache occasionally, but it sounds like this guy has other problems (addiction to the pain meds perhaps).
Good points, Nomad. Seems just about everyone who's responded so far has some ongoing pain/problem caused by training. Only choices I see are to bail out on life--like the guy in the suit--or push through it and do what you can. Oh, and for those youngsters who take five minutes after waking up to get everything working, I have to get up an hour early. :D Like Redford said to Fonda in the old movie, different parts wake up at different times. :lol:
 

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