Violence in Gaelic Games

bocerty wrote:

OMAR wrote:

black&white wrote:More good news from San Francisco with respect to Mark McGovern, but I have to say that I'm sickened to hear that his family are being landed with the medical costs (approaching €800k at last count) arising from the incident.
As far as I am aware the GAA are oblidged to have insurance for any injuries sustained whilst playing games organised by the association, and if they do not, at the very least the GAA should ensure that this young man isn't saddled with a crippling debt on top of the injuries sustained.

(Also sadly unsurprised to read that the SFPD are still unable to find a single witness to the incident - the cancer within our games remains unchecked)

Seems bizarre that the GAA aren't footing the bill for this - At the Ulster final Mark Mcgoverns clubmates
were collecting money - Its a deserving cause and no one would object to funding any expense his family may have in visiting the hospital etc, but I can't understand why the GAA are not the point of contact for the Medical bill in the first place. If not then surely he has a legitimate claim against the GAA although he shouldn't have to go to the hassle of sueing them.
If he got injured playing a game under their rules well then either the Ref they provided was negligent or
if they can't identify the person that assaulted him they are also negligent in not having CCTV or officials
watching out for his "care" whilst on their premises. Think this is where they get caught between a rock and a hard place - Their defence would be that they can;t account for random acts of violence but if thats the case they should be able to identify the person that did injure him.

seems the bill has hit $1.1million perhaps that explains why the GAA dont want to know!!

Though is it not plausible that he should have had his own insurance? I dont want that to sound harsh, just posing the question.

Most personal accident policies cover you for fairly small amounts e.g €20k for a broken leg etc
so if he had one of these it wouldn't even sniff at it

A travel insurance policy would typically be for the duration of a 2-3 week stay (it is unlikley he had this if he was working under a green card or working under no green card"

If he had a multi trip Annual travel insurance cover it would normally exclude Dangerous or Competive sports unless
additional premium was specifcally paid - Dependant on the insurer Hurling would probably fall into this category

He probably would be covered if he has Private Health Insurance(dependant on cover type) . If he was from ROI there would be a 50/50 chance of this
However in the UK only 10% of people have private health insurance because the public system covers most peoples needs.
If he was in the EU he would be covered with an E-111 but he isn't in the EU



So in summary I would doubt if he is covered.
A lot of people are sold insurance for things that they don't need (travel insurance on a EU package holiday paid for by Credit card being an example )sadly I'd say that this is the opposite case

bocerty wrote:

OMAR wrote:

black&white wrote:More good news from San Francisco with respect to Mark McGovern, but I have to say that I'm sickened to hear that his family are being landed with the medical costs (approaching €800k at last count) arising from the incident.
As far as I am aware the GAA are oblidged to have insurance for any injuries sustained whilst playing games organised by the association, and if they do not, at the very least the GAA should ensure that this young man isn't saddled with a crippling debt on top of the injuries sustained.

(Also sadly unsurprised to read that the SFPD are still unable to find a single witness to the incident - the cancer within our games remains unchecked)

Seems bizarre that the GAA aren't footing the bill for this - At the Ulster final Mark Mcgoverns clubmates
were collecting money - Its a deserving cause and no one would object to funding any expense his family may have in visiting the hospital etc, but I can't understand why the GAA are not the point of contact for the Medical bill in the first place. If not then surely he has a legitimate claim against the GAA although he shouldn't have to go to the hassle of sueing them.
If he got injured playing a game under their rules well then either the Ref they provided was negligent or
if they can't identify the person that assaulted him they are also negligent in not having CCTV or officials
watching out for his "care" whilst on their premises. Think this is where they get caught between a rock and a hard place - Their defence would be that they can;t account for random acts of violence but if thats the case they should be able to identify the person that did injure him.

seems the bill has hit $1.1million perhaps that explains why the GAA dont want to know!!

Though is it not plausible that he should have had his own insurance? I dont want that to sound harsh, just posing the question.

Not his responsibility Boc. If the GAA are organising games then the onus is on them to have insurance in place. They are ultimately liable (in a legal sense) so they ultimately need to have insurance in place.
I'd hate to see anyone go down the road of suing the GAA, but in this case the lad would be more than justified to ercover the medical costs.

if he was in the USA illegally B&W would be have a leg to stand on regarding suing the GAA?

What makes me laugh is even the dogs in the street know who hit him, so why isnt that person arrested and questioned/charged with this? Would it help his cause if the aggressor was 'found'.

bocerty wrote:if he was in the USA illegally B&W would be have a leg to stand on regarding suing the GAA?

What makes me laugh is even the dogs in the street know who hit him, so why isnt that person arrested and questioned/charged with this? Would it help his cause if the aggressor was 'found'.

I'd imagine that it would only be a problem if the GAA had asked players to confirm their immigration status and he had lied.
US Tort law is extremely biased towards plaintiffs in liability cases, and it's hard to imagine a situation where the GAA could argue that they had no responsibility because McGovern was an illegal immigrant. The GAA allowed him to play the game (assuming he gave his correct name to the referee) so if at a later point they wish to use immigration status to repudiate liability, then the onus is on them to request confirmation of his immigration status beforehand.

Fury as GAA star's alleged attacker escapes a life ban

A player suspected of a brutal assault which left a young Fermanagh GAA star fighting for his life has been banned for less than two years.

Mark McGovern suffered serious head injuries after being knocked unconscious during a match in the United States nearly two months ago.

The incident occurred during Mark's first game after arriving in America to play for the San Francisco Ulster club.

Yesterday it emerged that Patrick Power, who had been named as a "person of interest" by San Francisco police, has been banned for 96 weeks.

However, there is anger at the fact Power escaped a life ban.

Joe Duffy, the chairman of the San Francisco club, hit out at the ruling, claiming it was not consistent with other suspensions.

"There have been a couple of cases where an official has been injured in games and it's led to life bans," he said.

"Mark has a brain injury, we don't know the long-term consequences, he nearly died and yet they only give this guy a ban of less than two years.

"It makes no sense to me. There's no equity," said Mr Duffy.

Eamonn Gormley, who headed the San Francisco Competitions Control Committee, said the incident had been fully investigated.

"It was the maximum penalty and we believe that it was a fair outcome," he said.

Mark, from the Belcoo O'Rahilly's club in Fermanagh, came out of a coma in the last fortnight and is continuing his recovery in an acute rehabilitation unit in California.

His parents and sisters travelled to the United States and have been by his bedside throughout his ordeal. However, they have now been left facing medical bills of over $1m.

A special committee has been set up to help raise funds for his medical treatment.

A fundraising event will take place tomorrow night in Blacklion, Co Cavan.

Anyone convicted of serious violent conduct on a GAA pitch can face a life ban from the sport. Last month two men were banned for life following a fracas at a Tyrone ladies GAA match in which a official was assaulted and a referee left unconscious.

seems a pretty lenient ban for such a serious injury.

Great news on McGoverns recovery to date, he's a very lucky boy to be alive regardless of the medical bills! I see the fella that was arrested in connection with the incident was let off without charge, hopefully Mark will see justice done soon however i won't hold my breath!