Midwest Employers Casualty Company on Behalf of Terry English v. Charles Harpole, Jim Carroll, Alan Kwast, Albert Lopez and Brock Pittman

**What Happened:** A high school football coach named Terry English was injured during a game and sued the game referees for negligence. English claimed the referees failed to properly control the game and protect him from harm. His insurance company, Midwest Employers Casualty Company, brought the lawsuit on his behalf against five referees who were officiating the game. **What the Court Decided:** The Texas court ruled in favor of the referees, dismissing the case entirely. The court found that referees have no legal duty to protect coaches from injury during football games. Even if such a duty existed, the court determined that football is an inherently dangerous sport where injuries are expected risks that participants accept. **Why This Matters for Workers:** This ruling shows that workers in sports-related jobs cannot automatically sue game officials when they get hurt. The decision reinforces that certain jobs come with "assumed risks" - dangers that are considered a normal part of the work. For coaches, athletic trainers, and other sports workers, this means they generally cannot hold referees or officials responsible for injuries that occur during games, even if they believe the officials made poor decisions that contributed to their injuries.