Litigation

Concussions continued

By Carter Wood

We take note when news coverage on an issue coincides with congressional hearings, at least if the subject matter might involve liability and civil litigation. Maybe it's just the Zeitgeist, but the plaintiffs' bar is so adept at generating sympathetic coverage, one always wonders.

Anyway, today's Washington Post had two stories on athletes and concussions, an issue we've been following since last December.

On the front of Sports, given big play with photos is "Concussion symptoms linger for former soccer star Alecko Eskandarian as he returns to school at Virginia." On the front of the Metro section, "D.C. bill would sideline athletes with possible concussions."

Coincidentally ... At 10 a.m. Thursday, the House Education and Labor Committee holds a full committee hearing, "Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act." Chairman George Miller (D-CA) describes the bill:

At the request of several members of the Education and Labor Committee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigated the prevalence of concussions in high school athletics and found that concussions often go unrecognized. Recent research shows that concussions can have serious repercussions for student athletes both on the field and in the classroom. During the 2005-2008 school years, an estimated 400,000 concussions occurred in high school athletics - brain injuries that often go unnoticed and untreated.

The Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act would establish minimum standards in K-12 schools on concussion safety and management, including educating students, parents and school personnel about how to recognize and respond to concussions.

And here are the concussion-related blog posts at the Child Injury Lawyer Blog maintained by personal injury attorneys.

Full post as published by Point of Law on September 22, 2010 (boomark / email).