California Steps To Address Traumatic Brain Injuries from Football
California Addresses Football Injuries, According to Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyer
California has taken steps to improve player safety for interscholastic and youth sports. Assembly Bill 25, which Governor Jerry Brown signed into law in October 2011, places new restrictions on school sports, or any sports activities occurring at school facilities. The new law requires that coaches or administrators who suspect that a player has suffered a concussion or head injury, immediately remove that player for the remainder of the day. The law prohibits the player from returning to sports activity until a licensed medical provider, who is properly trained in diagnosing concussions and brain injuries evaluates the player and gives the player written clearance to return to his or her sport.
New Legal Requirements Designed to Prevent Concussion and Head Injuries
Additionally, the law requires a player’s parent or guardian to sign and return a concussion and head injury information sheet. The player cannot practice or compete until submission of the form. Some believe these measures are not enough, Dr. Geoffrey T. Manley, the Chief of Neurosurgery at San Francisco General Hospital, wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle. “We … need to study the long-term outcomes of concussions and better track the concussions that athletes sustain in their careers. Today, this information is generally not recorded in a standardized way to be shared with athletic and medical personnel over time.”
Helmets and Equipment Need To Protect Youth From Traumatic Brain Injury
Manley also pointed to the equipment players wear as a factor. “[W]e need to find ways to ensure that new helmet technology and other advances are not confined to the most elite level of the sport but filter their way down to every level of play, where the majority of the injuries are happening and prevention is most needed… [W]e need to do more to better protect our most vulnerable and numerous athletes – the youngsters.”
Participation in school sports such as football can help build skills such as teamwork, leadership and communication.
As the National Football League faces a potentially multi-billion dollar legal action regarding its culpability in the traumatic brain injuries its players suffered while playing in the league, athletic governing bodies and lawmakers at all levels are seeking out ways to make the sport of football safer, and to protect the brains of the players who participate.
Centers for Disease Control Reports Traumatic Brain Injuries to Children
According to a 2011 U.S. Centers for Disease Control report, medical providers reported more than 200,000 emergency room visits annually from injuries related to sports and recreation, with nearly two-thirds of those traumatic brain injuries happening to children age five to 18. During the previous decade, the number of ER visits skyrocketed from around 150,000 in 2001 to nearly 250,000 in 2009. Of those injured people, the highest rates occurred among 10-to-19-year-old males. The activities generating the largest number of brain-oriented ER visits were bicycling, football, playground activities, basketball, and soccer. For the oft-injured group of 10-to-19-year-old males, the most injurious activities were football and bicycling. These sports, however, may also offer an unfortunate side effect of harm, including traumatic brain injury. Schools have a duty to keep their athletes safe when they participate in interscholastic sports.
Contact Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers in San Francisco
If you have a loved one who suffered a head injury, call an experience brain injury lawyer to discuss your case. Our attorneys can go over the duties others had to protect your loved one’s safety and the right to recovery your family may have. Click now to request a free consultation or call 415-541-0300 to speak with an injury attorney.
Boone Callaway is a personal injury & medical malpractice lawyer in San Francisco who has been working with clients in the Bay Area for over 25 years. Mr. Callaway is one of only a few personal injury litigators in San Francisco who is a Super Lawyer, AV Rated and is also a member of ABOTA – American Board of Trial Advocates.
