Who is Responsible for Medical Bills in Jiu-Jitsu Training: Understanding Liability and Insurance.
Who's responsible for medical bills when we injure a training partner in jiujitsu?
That is an excellent question proposed on the Chewjitsu’s podcast YouTube channel:
“A lot of people have sent me messages recently (mostly white belts and a few blue belts) that said that recently had a situation where they were rolling and then their training partner got injured during that roll. And they feel terrible about it, they feel awful and responsible for it and they don’t know how to proceed. Because they’re like “Man I feel awful about the situation, what should I do? Am I responsible for this, should I pay for their medical bills? What should I be doing now that this person got injured because I’ve taken them off the mats for you know 2 weeks, 3 months, whatever it might be depending on the situation”
Am I responsible for medical bills?
Chewy does a good job of putting the perspective on the assumption of risk. He understands that for the most part, we’re all there to train and accidents or injuries are going to happen. He does a great job of summarizing the fact of the sport as a whole: “it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when somebody’s going to get hurt in their training environment.”
Of course, we can work to control and mitigate risks. That is very important in any Jiu Jitsu school, controlling the environment to prevent injuries. Still, Chewy is absolutely right, people are going to get hurt in the gym.
From a business owner's standpoint, the gym owner needs to look at this from a risk management perspective. The fact is Jiu Jitsu is highly competitive and the chances of injury can be higher when compared to other sports. This is especially true when compared to sports with less contact or sudden movements. It is also equally important for each individual participant that gets on the mat to understand these realities of the sport. Accidents and injuries are going to happen, and they should look to train as safely as possible. Knowing how to pay for those medical bills when and if we get injured is also important.
How can insurance help when injuries happen in jiu jitsu?
Medical services such as physiotherapists and doctors can be pricey, not to mention the inability to work that may arise. Getting hurt and treating injuries costs money. My suggestion for every single grappler is to have specific injury policies to cover this.
These supplemental insurance programs apply on and off the mats, covering practitioners even when they are not training. They provide coverage when you are at home, or on the job to help offset the cost associated with medical bills and time off of work.
Even if you have other insurance this accident injury program works as a supplemental payer and will still apply. Therefore, we believe every grappler on the mat should have a Jiu Jitsu personal injury insurance policy. In fact, training without health insurance is a risk.
Is training BJJ without health insurance a bad idea?
We do not think you should stop training jiu jitsu just because you don’t have health insurance. Instead this article provides tips to treating injuries and covers ways for you to pay those bills without traditional health insurance.
