HOTEL POLICY MANUAL

TITLE: LAW DIVISION: Recreation

No: 3 – Legal First Aid CROSS REF. (Policy #):
PREPARED BY: Stewart Hodsoll—Health Club & APPROVED BY: Adrian Rudin-
Recreation Manager General Manager
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REVIEWED/UPDATED ON: 1 September 2007 LAST ISSUE:
DISTRIBUTED TO: General Manager, Resident Manager, and all Health Club Staff

As with medical first aid, the guiding principle of legal first aid is to preserve the
situation and to prevent it from getting worse until professional help can be
obtained.
Information about the incident is plentiful at the time of occurrence from as many
witnesses as possible. Later this information can become evidence in a legal
proceeding.

ESTABLISHING LEGAL RESPONSE PROCEDURES

As a defensive measure, expect legal consequences to result from injury to
participants in a recreational activity. Specific procedures for dealing with
possible legal ramifications that should be followed include:
1. Analyzing and evaluating the accident.
2. Immediately notifying superiors.
3. Supporting and assisting colleagues.
4. Gathering and controlling information from any witnesses.

Those involved should:

- Identify witnesses, get statements and preserve the evidence
Diagrams or photographs of the accident site are extremely useful. Accuracy
is absolutely essential because all records created can become evidence.
- Follow up with venue personnel and witnesses to obtain statements and
their detailed recollection of events.
Does this before people have a chance to discuss the situation (which can
change their recollection of events).
- Complete all the required documentation thoroughly and accurately
Since you cannot know in advance what records are significant, this applies
to everything from daily log sheets to accident reports forms.
Logs and forms should contain all the relevant information.
- Maintain a professional, competent approach
A decision to sue is sometimes influenced by the perception of apparent
unprofessional or incompetent lifeguard/pool attendant behavior. An
individual is more likely to commence an action if he or she feels personally
aggrieved by the organization. NEVER ADMIT OR IMPLY FAULT.

KEY PRINCIPLES: Information or statements should not be given without

previous discussion with management and appropriate legal advice.

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 Legal First Aid

ENSURE FOLLOW UP AND EVALUATION

Evaluation of information obtained following any accident is a key component
both in preventing future accidents and in guarding against liability. Similar
accidents should alert staff to hidden risks. Failure to prevent subsequent
accidents may be negligent.
Often, important data lie hidden in accumulated accident reports because no one
analyzed or documented the information. A graphic, simple way to track
accidents is to mark each one on a venue map which has been coded to
distinguish different types of causes (e.g. patron activity, medical emergencies
and slippery floors).

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