Whatever the facts are at TX, I am absolutely certain that neither the university’s administration or athletic department will admit to any fault in their treatment of Prince’s injury. Their lawyers would never permit the University to put the school in the position of opening itself up to a potential lawsuit by admitting liability
@oldude , please allow me to respond -- and apologies to you and the entire Boneyard for the length of my post.
First, if Sedona Prince were to bring a claim against the University of Texas, Prince bears the burden of proof (with respect to any medical malpractice or other claim), not the university. The university has the burden of production to rebut the evidence presented by Prince, but Prince, as the plaintiff/claimant retains the ultimate burden of proof.
With that being said, why would the University admit fault, when there has been a vague statement about transferring for "medical reasons" without indicating anything was incorrect or improper or even to what Prince was referring in using that phrase?
Second, even if it wanted to, the University could not respond right now (absent litigation, in which case the response(s) would be part of the legal proceedings), as a result of various rules that apply to college students and medical records (specifically, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)).
By way of background:
--- FERPA applies to educational agencies and institutions that receive funds under any program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. The term “education records” is broadly defined to mean those records that are: (1) directly related to a student, and (2) maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution. (
34 CFR § 99.3).
--- Medical and psychological treatment records of eligible students are excluded from the definition of “education records” if they are made, maintained, and used
only in connection with treatment of the student and disclosed only to individuals providing the treatment. (
34 CFR § 99.3).
--- These records are commonly called “treatment records.” An eligible student’s treatment records may be disclosed for purposes other than the student’s treatment, provided the records are disclosed under one of the exceptions to written consent (
34 CFR § 99.31(a)) or with the student’s written consent. (
34 CFR § 99.30).
What about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), you may ask?
--- The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires covered entities to protect individuals’ health records and other identifiable health information by requiring appropriate safeguards to protect privacy, and setting limits and conditions on the uses and disclosures that may be made of such information without patient authorization.
What about the interplay between FERPA and HIPAA?
---FERPA applies to most public and private colleges and universities and, thus, to the records on students at the campus health clinics of such institutions.
---The HIPAA Privacy Rule specifically excludes from its coverage those records that are protected by FERPA.
This is getting long and boring, @CamrnCrz1974 -- can you bring this in for a landing?
--- Sedona Prince's medical/treatment records are covered by FERPA. The University of Texas may not release any statement or document referencing any medical treatment at/by the University to anyone (other than for the purpose of treatment of Prince) absent Prince's consent.
--- If Sedona Prince were to file a claim, the records would be released as part of litigation (though there would be a release and a subpoena, usually).
--- There is no litigation here. No claim has been filed/submitted. There has been no suggestion that a claim/lawsuit is potentially going to be filed. The only thing that was stated was that a transfer was for "medical reasons" (which leads me to respond to the next quoted paragraph).
When Prince entered the transfer portal, she alluded to some agreement with TX that she would be transferring for “medical reasons.” If such an agreement exists, I can only guess that it simply states that TX will not oppose Prince’s waiver request, perhaps with the school specifically indicating “no responsibility for either her injury or any problems encountered during her recovery.
In her statement, she did not allude or reference any agreement with Texas. See below:
A transfer for "medical reasons" could be a number of things. Perhaps the University of Oregon has a medical staff/physicians that Prince prefers. Perhaps she did not like a physician, trainer, or physical therapist at Texas. Perhaps she made the statement to bolster any claim for an exception/waiver so she would not sit out 2019-20. We do not know.
But what we do know is that there was discussion or reference to any "agreement" with the University of Texas regarding the transfer for medical reasons.