New Laws Prevent Athletes From Returning to Field After Concussion
By Rick Shapiro, Brain Injury Attorney
We’ve all seen famous athletes shrugging off the effects of a concussion and returning to the game.
But across the country states are tightening up their laws to force schools and colleges to take minor traumatic brain injuries such as concussions more seriously. In Massachusetts’ (MA) a new law bars athletes from playing through the pain by forbidding those with suspected concussions from returning to a game or practice, SouthCoastToday.com reports.
Applying to public middle and high schools and any other schools subject to Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association rules, the law and a set of proposed regulations establish stricter return-to-play requirements. The law also mandates concussion training for parents, students, volunteers and almost any professional involved in middle and high school sports.
We recently highlighted how, also in Massachusetts (MA), schools are developing a test to recognize concussions in athletes.
Our firm has led the way in highlighting the dangers of concussion, pointing out a mild traumatic brain injury, can be anything but mild in its long term effects. We have worked closely with the families of victims and our firm obtained the largest personal injury verdict in Virginia (VA) history as of 2000, for a gas station attendant who suffered a brain injury and other orthopedic injuries when he was pinned inside a partly demolished gas station when a Norfolk Southern train derailed due to a wrong switch position.
As new data on concussions emerged across Virginia (VA), the General Assembly recently passed legislation requiring medical clearance for students to return to play.
If you hit your head in a fall, accident or physical assault, you may suffer concussion-like symptoms known as post concussion syndrome, for weeks or months afterward, while traumatic brain injuries can cause memory loss.
Mild traumatic brain injuries are less obvious, but a mild traumatic brain injury can cause permanent damage. There is a growing body of evidence that concussion-type injuries, if untreated, can lead to Parkinson-type diseases and dementia.
They are sometimes called “invisible” injuries. Emergency personnel treat urgent and life threatening injuries so a potential brain injury can be overlooked at the scene of an accident. In fact, 90 percent of concussions do not involve a loss of consciousness. Yet cognition problems can develop and reveal themselves with devastating consequences.
Our brain injury lawyers evaluate cases involving a negligent or careless decision that subjected a person to a concussion or brain injury, as well as brain damage that is the result of a car/truck accident as just a few examples. If we can assist you with such a claim, please contact our law firm.
About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law, and we have experience handling traumatic brain injury and general head injury cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). Our attorneys achieved the largest verdict in Virginia’s history for a brain-damaged client in 2000. Our injury lawyers also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Furthermore, we proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as pro bono public information services. While not every brain injury case meets our criteria, if you or a loved one is thinking about taking legal action against a possibly at-fault person or company who caused your injury, call our office at (800) 752-0042 for a free consultation. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, be sure to leave a voicemail. We will return your call.
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