Personal Injury Law

The High Price To Pay For Concussions

By Paul Napoli

Any athlete knows that part of playing a sport is getting injured. From a young age, children are taught by coaches to play through their injury unless it is unbearable. The problem with this coaching philosophy is sometimes children don’t know when they are pushing their injury too far, and this is when the injury can become life threatening. The most recent example of this is when a Montclair, New Jersey, football player died this week after suffering a brain hemorrhage during a game. The brain hemorrhage was later found to be caused by playing after suffering a recent concussion. The junior varsity player had recently been cleared to begin playing again after being “okayed” by his primary care physician. If the young boys doctor had more thoroughly examined him this death may have been prevented. This situation has become eerily familiar to families across the country who have had children severely injured or die as the result of a poor decision made by a doctor.

A concussion occurs when the brain, which is made of soft tissue, is moved so aggressively that it slams into the skull. When this occurs, the brain often gets damaged, bruised, or receives injuries to the blood vessels and nerves. Some of the symptoms associated with concussions are memory loss, unconsciousness immediately after the injury, lightheadedness, nausea, headaches, and blurred vision. After a concussion occurs the brain needs to begin to heal, this is when it is vital for your child to see a doctor to find out how long they should wait before returning to daily activities, especially athletics. The personal injury that this boy ensued could have been prevented if the doctor didn’t clear him to play after only a few weeks of rest. The well being of this boy was in the hands of the doctor, and somehow the doctor allowed that to slip away. The responsibility of the boy died, not only falls on the doctor who cleared him, but also on the coaching staff who should have had the medical knowledge to think “hey maybe allowing him to play in a football game isn’t the best idea right now,” especially when the sport relies on so much player to player contact. When coaching a team, the team’s safety should be the your principal goal. If your child has suffered injuries as the result of a poor decision made by a physician, contact a NBR Lawfirm attorney and file a lawsuit against the doctor who caused the suffering.

With sports related injuries becoming more and more common serious precautions need to be used when trying to make the decision whether a player is healthy enough to return to their sport. One way to determine the health of the player is by performing an Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing system, also known as ImPACT. This assessment, given immediately after a concussion, tests the athlete’s memory, reaction, and processing speed. The results of this assessment can be compared to results from future assessments that can be given as the athlete becomes healthier.

Summary: Sports injuries to children are becoming more and more common. If your child has fallen victim to a preventable injury contact a NBR Lawfirm attorney and file a lawsuit.

Full post as published by New York City Personal Injury Lawyer on October 20, 2008 (boomark / email).