Earlier today, the New Orleans Saints enjoyed a clear victory over the Carolina Panthers, winning 34 to 3. Unfortunately, Saints tight end, Jeremy Shockey suffered a rib injury, leading him to walk into a waiting ambulance and be transported to a local hospital. Shockey suffered a hard hit to the back and appeared to be in a tremendous amount of pain as he left the field. A rib injury is serious for any athlete and team that is significantly impacted by any game disrupting injury. However, such injury is certainly not life threatening. Football as well as any other sport necessarily requires on site risk management in relation to game related injuries.

There seems to be multiple misconceptions that I hear over and over again. I’ve been told by many people in the sports industry that they require sport and recreation participants to sign a waiver and so they can’t be sued. There are other misconceptions as well in relation to insurance and lawsuits. I’ve heard people say that they don’t have insurance because if they did, people would sue in order to go after the insurance. I’ve also heard people deny being sued, but explain that the insurance was sued. Hopefully, the following explanation can help in clearing up any misunderstandings.

This morning I watched television weatherman, Guy Hagi, warn of high and treacherous wave conditions in the Hawaiian Islands and decided that I would blog about safety in relation to such surf conditions. Just when I was about ready to tap out some safety tips about surfing on my blog, I came across a shocking news report posted by the Honolulu Mayor, Peter Carlisle, on Facebook. Surf champion Andy Irons died today!