High School Football Player Suffers Head Injury
A 16-year-old football player from San Jose, CA has been hospitalized since Thanksgiving when he sustained a hairline fracture of his skull during a traditional rival game. According to this article on a cbsSportsline.com website, he required life-saving surgery that day that included placing him into a drug-induced coma. He was in critical condition for one week until doctors took him out of the coma. Doctors say it is too soon to know if neurological damage that the teen sustained will be permanent.
Some of football’s most visible stars have also recently suffered head traumas.
Donovan McNabb, Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner have all experienced head injuries this season.
The head injuries sparked a national awareness about the dangers, complexities and frequency of concussions in football.
According to the article, between 1.6 and 3.8 million sports and recreation related concussions occur annually in the United States or that 12 % of all high school sports injuries involve head trauma. Another 3.5 million concussions that occur annually go undetected.
About 1.2 million youth play football with the chance of a catastrophic neurological disability such as paralysis at 1.65 and death at 0.7 per 100,000.
High school and youth athletes, whose skulls and brains aren’t fully developed, risk serious injury by coming back to soon.
A large portion of the catastrophic head injuries occur following an unsafe amount of time from a previous head injury.
The NFL is now requiring that any player who shows signs of head injury be removed practice or game and be banned from returning the same day. These symptoms may require immediate medical attention. Report to the nearest emergency room or call 911: headache, nausea, balance problems and dizziness, double or fuzzy vision, sensitivity to light or noise, feeling sluggish, feeling “foggy,” change in sleep pattern, difficulty remembering recent events, change in personality or increased irritability, difficulty concentrating, may experience initial improvement followed by worsening of symptoms, symptoms may worsen with exertion.
If you’re dealing with the aftermath of a Pennsylvania brain injury accident to a loved one, you are probably feeling stressed, scared, and alone. You can sue the responsible parties for their part in the brain injury, collecting compensation for medical treatment, pain and suffering, even punitive damages designed to discourage others from acting negligently.
The attorneys at Cherry, Fieger, & Marciano understand the stress and anxiety that can accompany a brain injury. They offer qualified, competent legal representation with proven results. Your time to file a Pennsylvania brain injury lawsuit may be limited by local law, so time is of the essence if you want to collect compensation for a brain injury.
