NASCO Risk Management & Regulatory Compliance 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A staff member is injured while performing a rescue. Which type of insurance coverage would apply to their medical expenses and lost wages?
- General liability insurance
- Umbrella liability insurance
- Workers' compensation insurance (Correct answer)
- Professional liability insurance
Correct answer: Workers' compensation insurance
Workers' compensation insurance covers medical expenses and lost wages for employees injured in the course of their employment.
Question 2: An aquatic facility's 'standard of care' is most directly determined by:
- What the facility manager personally believes is reasonable
- What a reasonably prudent aquatic professional would do under the same circumstances (Correct answer)
- The minimum standards set by the cheapest certification program available
- What competing facilities in the area are doing
Correct answer: What a reasonably prudent aquatic professional would do under the same circumstances
The legal standard of care is defined as what a reasonable, prudent professional with similar training and in similar circumstances would have done.
Question 3: Under OSHA's Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) standard, an aquatic facility must follow LOTO procedures when:
- Performing routine pool vacuuming during open hours
- Servicing or maintaining pool equipment where unexpected startup could injure a worker (Correct answer)
- Adding chemicals to the pool while patrons are present
- Testing water chemistry with automated probes
Correct answer: Servicing or maintaining pool equipment where unexpected startup could injure a worker
OSHA's LOTO standard (29 CFR 1910.147) applies whenever workers service or maintain equipment where unexpected energization or startup could cause injury.
Question 4: A patron who signs a waiver acknowledging they understand the inherent risks of swimming is covered by which legal defense if they are subsequently injured by a known risk?
- Comparative negligence
- Assumption of risk (Correct answer)
- Contributory negligence
- Sovereign immunity
Correct answer: Assumption of risk
The 'assumption of risk' doctrine can protect a facility when a patron voluntarily accepts the inherent dangers of an activity after being informed of them.
Question 5: Which federal law requires public aquatic facilities built or altered after January 31, 2013 to have at least two accessible means of entry into pools with 300 linear feet of wall or more?
- Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act
- ADA Standards for Accessible Design (2010) (Correct answer)
- Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- Fair Housing Amendments Act
Correct answer: ADA Standards for Accessible Design (2010)
The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, which took effect for compliance on January 31, 2013, require two accessible entry points for larger pools.
Question 6: What is the primary purpose of requiring an aquatic facility to maintain an accurate 'pool log' documenting chemical readings, maintenance, and bather counts?
- To satisfy insurance underwriters who require daily logs for coverage
- To establish a factual record demonstrating the facility's ongoing duty of care (Correct answer)
- To comply with EPA stormwater runoff regulations
- To track revenue for tax reporting purposes
Correct answer: To establish a factual record demonstrating the facility's ongoing duty of care
Accurate pool logs create a documentary record that demonstrates the facility actively monitored and maintained a safe environment, which is critical evidence in negligence claims.
Question 7: A facility operator learns that a state regulation requires pool fencing to be at least 48 inches high, but the facility's fence is only 42 inches high. The operator decides not to fix it because no incidents have occurred. This decision BEST illustrates:
- Acceptable risk tolerance given the clean incident history
- A failure to meet the regulatory standard of care, creating significant liability exposure (Correct answer)
- A valid cost-benefit analysis under the risk management framework
- Contributory negligence on the part of any patron who is injured
Correct answer: A failure to meet the regulatory standard of care, creating significant liability exposure
Operating out of compliance with a specific regulatory standard is a per se breach of duty; the lack of past incidents does not excuse non-compliance and creates serious liability.
NASCO Risk Management & Regulatory Compliance 5
A staff member is injured while performing a rescue.
Which type of insurance coverage would apply to their medical expenses and lost wages?