Personal Injury Law

Philadelphia Eagles Under Fire after Players Sustain Concussions

By Bruce Stern

During the September 12th Eagles game, two Philadelphia Eagle players (Stewart Bradley and Kevin Kolb) sustained concussions. After a  brief evaluation on the sidelines, both players quickly returned to play.  In the case of Eagle linebacker Stewart Bradley, he was returned to play in four minutes.  Unfortunately, neither player was able to return after half-time, both having been diagnosed as having sustained a concussion.

The Eagles have come under fire after the player's quick return to play. In the case of Stewart Bradley, Dr. Robert Cantu, Senior Advisor to the NFL Head, Neck, and Spine Committee, and one of the nation's leading experts on concussions and sports was quoted as stating, 'I doubt they [Eagles] did any kind of neurologic, thorough assessment.  You just can't do it that fast.' (See Questions raised about Eagles' evaluation of concussions)

The mismanagement of the care of these two Eagle players, comes at time when the NFL publicly, has begun a campaign to stress the significance of sports concussions and the need for thorough and proper evaluation of players and guidelines prohibiting return to play until the players are symptom free. 
 

While it is disheartening to see the Eagle medical staff ignore guidelines and more importantly the future health of players who have entrusted their care to these medical trainers and doctors, I am very pleased that the news media has taken this situation extremely seriously, every day writing stories, questioning the evaluation and care given by the Eagle training staff.  Hopefully, through the media, the public will begin to understand and appreciate the significance of what in the past has been termed a 'mild' traumatic brain injury.  As we know from reports from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) mild traumatic brain injuries can have a significant effect on an individual's life well into the future.  As we have come to learn, there is no such thing as a mild brain injury. 

Full post as published by Traumatic Brain Injury Law Blog on September 20, 2010 (boomark / email).