“When in doubt, sit them out” in order to keep teen brains from colliding with the insides of their skulls
As part of a seminar for football coaches from Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC reported in yesterday’s Washington Post, high school educators also learned that only 10 percent of concussions involve loss of consciousness. These educators (because learning continues on the playing field) learned that a CT scan might not show any objective physical damage. At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we see challenges to concussion and traumatic brain injury (“TBI”) claims because of this “lack of objective medical evidence.” However, because a concussion is more of a functional deficit than a structural one, it is hard to “see” the damage caused by an impact to the skull and the interior crashing around of the teenager’s brain. Often there is no obvious change in behavior. Yet a concussion that is not properly managed could result in neurological symptoms that last a lifetime, even though players themselves do not fully weigh those consequences. Permanent brain damage from a sports injury is something that teenage athletes do not often fully consider. Herndon head injury lawyer Doug Landau recognizes that teen impulsiveness and intense athletic competitiveness can create a dangerous condition when the dangers of brain trauma are concerned.
So for moms and dads attending football parents’ meetings in the coming months, it might be worth asking the coach or athletic trainer (if there is one) how they diagnose and manage these invisible injuries and whether they use the ImPACT program or a similar one. What’s their sideline action plan when such an injury occurs? “When bad things have happened to athletes,” Dr. Peter Gonzalez of Eastern Virginia Medical School said, “the vast majority did not have athletic trainers on the sideline.” Under present guidelines, a concussion in a football game on a Friday night almost always means the player should sit out the following week’s game. “When in doubt, sit them out” is the medical mantra. More than half the states in the country in recent years have passed or considered more restrictive concussion guidelines for young athletes, including Maryland and Virginia. It’s up to coaches at all levels of sports to stay current on the recommended procedures.
