Sports and Traumatic Brain Injuries

Head injuries sustained as a result of sporting injuries are serious and have the tendency to be cumulative, resulting in major trauma for the victim.

People are probably familiar with the term “Shaken Baby Syndrome” and understand immediately what that means in terms of damage to a baby. The result of a baby being shaken causes the infant’s brain to be bruised irreparably. Here is how that works. Inside everyone’s head there is a fluid filled space in between the actual skull and the brain. Apply enough force to the skull, say blunt force traumas that happen in sports, and the brain slaps up against the hard skull. The end result here is something called a concussion.

The other term for concussion is bruised brain and we all understand that some bruises are much worse than others. Watching hockey, football, soccer, polo or other body contact sports will inevitably show the viewer at least one bone crunching thump to the skull by one player to another. If the player has been in a particular sport for a number of years – say hockey for 5 or more years – they are likely to have sustained numerous concussions. Many of those hits to the head may not be that serious, but over a period of time the damage builds up and manifests itself in interesting and problematic ways.

For instance, cumulative damage may end up manifesting itself as short term memory loss or even pseudo-Parkinson’s disease. An example of a well-known sports figure who sustained cumulative brain damage is Mohammed Ali. His precise diagnosis is actually pseudo- Parkinson’s disease which is the adult equivalent of Shaken Baby Syndrome.

While everyone agrees that something needs to be done to make the sport safer, it still seems that no one knows exactly what to do or is hesitating to do it. Tighter chin straps would help, better helmets and decent mouth guards that actually allow a player to breathe through them would all be a great start. However, none of this addresses the legal ramifications of negligence in “not” providing players with the proper equipment, even when team owners are aware of the consequences of using improper gear.

It’s no laughing matter to get concussions on a consistent basis as a result of using not so safe paraphernalia. It’s no wonder that many people involved in sports are seeking legal counsel about the ramifications of being provided with improper gear. Only a skilled personal injury attorney will be able to address what this may mean in terms of compensation for personal damages sustained while playing sports.

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