Cherry Injury Law RSS Feed
Brain injuries can have effects that manifest themselves in many different ways, depending on the severity of the injury and the area of the brain affected. Some of the most common ways to develop brain injuries are through accidents, sports injuries, and assaults. Sadly, brain injuries are often life changing and can lead to cognitive difficulties, paralysis and personality changes, to name a few.
On Brain Awareness Day last week, two members of the U.S. Congress proposed a bill aimed at preventing brain injuries in young people. The bill, which was originally co-sponsored by Pennsylvania Representative Todd Russell Platts, would target the helmets used by athletes in high school and younger by requiring that new and reconditioned helmets meet more stringent safety standards.
Known as the Children’s Sports Athletic Equipment Safety Act, the bill would also impose stricter penalties on sellers that use misleading or false injury prevention claims to sell helmets or other protective sports equipment.
Currently, athletics are the second leading cause of brain injuries for people between 15 and 24-years-old, only slightly behind motor vehicle crashes. Experts say that improving helmets could prevent many of these injuries. In fact, each year, athletes suffer approximately 3.8 million sports-related concussions throughout the country.
One of the bill’s co-sponsors, a democrat out of New Jersey, said that after 30 years without change, now is the time to modify the helmet standards. “It is very important our students are protected with the best head gear possible,” he said.
The other co-sponsor of the bill, a democrat from New Mexico, said that it is estimated that there are currently 100,000 football helmets currently being used by young people that are more than a decade old. He said that new football helmets would have to be four times stronger than these ones to provide protection against concussions.
In a prepared statement, the NFL Players Association, along with several other sports organizations, said it commended Congress for taking on this issue. The Association’s Executive Director said that it recognizes that many of the sport’s young players are currently at risk for traumatic brain injuries because of the lack of regulation for helmet safety.
Resource: CNN Health, “Bill would strengthen youth helmet standards,” Val Willingham, 3/16/2011.