Litigation

Boxer in Coma Passes Away From Head Injuries

By Michael Kaplen

Sadly, World Boxing Organization intercontinental champion Choi Yo-sam was officially declared dead following head injuries received in a title bout in Korea. 

Choi's death came after eight days in an injury-induced coma and following him being certified brain dead Wednesday afternoon.

Choi Yo-sam was repeatedly struck in the head during this boxing match.  Although he was knocked to the ground, he was able to recover and continue to fight.  He managed to finish the bout.  He collapsed after returning to his corner. He was taken to the hospital where a cerebral hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain) was discovered and he underwent neurosurgery to reduce the pressure in his brain and stop the bleeding. Unfortunately, he never regained consciousness.

His family has donated many of his organs to assist others.

This is not the first fighter who has tragically died following head trauma.  Many of these individuals have not been knocked unconscious during the bout and have been allowed by ring doctors to continue to fight despite having sustained numerous violent blows to the head.  Perhaps, changes need to be made requiring that fights be halted following a certain number of head blows in any given round or during the entire fight.

By this time, it should be apparent that the ringside examination is not sufficient to determine if the fighter has sustained life threatening brain damage.  Unfortunately, this cannot be determined until the fight is over and steps need to be taken to protect the lives and future health of these fighters.

Full post as published by Brain Injury News and Information on January 02, 2008 (boomark / email).