Reducing Risk

In order to reduce the risk you are assuming in running a 4-H shooting sports program you must first recognize the specific duties that you have as the ‘instructor’, the ‘professional’, the ‘expert’, the person responsible, duties imposed by the concept of liability:

 

Liability: A legal obligation or duty. 

There are two types of liability:

  • Criminal: duties due to community 
  • Civil : duties due to individuals

 

Under Civil Liability there are two types:

  • Contractual
  • Tort

‘Tort’ is what should be of interest in a 4-H Shooting Sports program because it is defined as: ‘a legal wrong doing committed upon a person who suffers damages as a direct result’. While there are many types of ‘Tort’ liability, including ‘intentional wrong’, our concern should be ‘unintentional wrong’: an act or the failure to act in a responsible manner which results in injury to another. This is NEGLIGENCE.

 

Negligence is defined as the failure to perform a legally owed duty as would a reasonable and prudent person, with that failure resulting in actual damage that is a consequence of the breach of duty and should have been foreseen.

 

There are four elements of negligence that must be present before negligence can be proved:

 

  • Duty Owed - Was there a legal duty owed the injured party?

 

  • Duty Breached - Was there a failure to fulfill this duty?

 

  • Actual Damages - Was there an injury to the party owed the duty?

 

  • Proximate Cause - Was the failure to fulfill the duty the direct cause of the injury? 

 

What does this mean for the 4-H instructor?

First, you have a ‘duty’, read that responsibility, to provide a safe environment in which to conduct your program. This means simply that you should know what a safe environment is, be able to recognize hazards, act to remove those hazards in a prudent manner, or control them through an established procedure and ensure that you do not, intentionally or unintentionally, create additional hazards.

 

Second, you have a duty to conduct the activities of your program in a reasonable and prudent manner in accordance with a recognized protocol or procedure.

While these may seem to be insurmountable obstacles, really they are quite simply addressed. BY FOLLOWING THE ESTABLISHED 4-H SHOOTING SPORTS MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION AND LESSON PLAN and the safety procedures provided in the manual, you will have gone a long way toward satisfying your responsibility to conduct the program in a proper and safe manner. Certainly there will be times that you might vary from the letter of the manual, but never from the law it establishes. An example of this might be:

  • Lesson One of the Manual provides a safe and established procedure for familiarizing students with a Daisy Model 853 air rifle. But, what if you don’t have that particular model of air rifle and instead have the use of Remington 513T .22 Caliber rifles and a safe, proper range to fire them on. Then your first lesson would be to utilize the provided format of familiarization but substitute proper instruction for the Remington rifle, or what ever model of rifle you are going to use, in place of the Daily 853.

But, there are other specific duties that are required of you, specific legal duties, as recognized by the courts, that you should be aware of and fulfill.

 

You have a duty to:

 

  1. PROPERLY PLAN THE ACTIVITY. Every aspect of the training should be planned prior to instruction and the instruction should be geared to the existing skill level of the student. The evaluation of the skill level should be continuous with each student and specific training included in your written lesson plan.
  2. PROVIDE PROPER INSTRUCTION. The instruction you give must be consistent with the established protocol of your program (i.e.: follow the lesson plan in the manual) and, again, geared to the skill level of the individual student.
  3. EXPLAIN THE INHERENT RISKS. Students must know and understand the inherent risk associated with the activity. They must be clearly warned of the dangers involved with not following your instruction. Once is not enough. Repeatedly advise them . . . “you must wear your safety glasses at all times in the range because a pellet could put out your eye and blind you.”
  4. MONITOR FOR INJURY OR INCAPACITY.  It is your responsibility to evaluate 
    students for injuries or other conditions which would inhibit their ability to be safe and follow instruction. Never force a youngster to participate against their will. And be prepared to remove a student you observe to be inattentive or distracted (unable to safely participate). The required youth health form could be a basis for your decision.
  5. PROVIDE ADEQUATE, SAFE EQUIPMENT. You must insure that the equipment 
    you provide is proper for the program, i.e.: fits the shooter and the course of fire, and is mechanically safe, having been inspected and certified by a qualified individual. (Maintain an equipment log with written documentation of these inspections and certifications).
  6. PROVIDE PROPER EMERGENCY RESPONSE. You must have a written
    emergency action plan, one that covers responsibilities of supervisory personnel, who to call, who calls, transportation, and who is the provider of emergency care.
  • Have an adequate first aid kit on site and have a trained first responder present.
  • Have the required youth and adult health forms available.
  • Notify local emergency personnel of your activities and locations before you start your program.
  1. MAINTAIN ADEQUATE RECORDS. While there are many formats this can take, the Activities Log (example included) is an example of what to include and how to maintain these important records.
  2. PROVIDE CLOSE SUPERVISION. Activities should occur under your direct supervision. You and your associate trainers are always in place and in control.
  3. INSPECT, INSPECT, INSPECT. Always ensure a safe environment by regularly and completely inspecting all aspects of the physical environment you are holding your program in.

 

Well, lots to remember and do! Certainly, but all these items can become manageable by spending the time to write them down in one format and establishing a procedure to follow in every activity. This written format is called a “Risk Management Plan.”

 

 

 

 

Risk Management