While it is not yet clear whether the NFL will begin work on its 2020 season with the coronavirus pandemic affecting people across the country, it is important to know that, if the NFL season does move forward, players likely will continue to be at risk of serious injuries resulting from concussions.
According to a recent article in Forbes, many of the safety changes the NFL has made in the last decade, designed to improve the safety of the game and to reduce traumatic brain injury rates, have not had a significant effect.
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), including concussions, happen much too often in professional football, but these catastrophic injuries can also occur in other contact sports. Even youth athletes can sustain concussions on the field, potentially placing them at risk of developing degenerative brain diseases like chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) years later.
I want to tell you more about this recent study reported in Forbes concerning the NFL and brain injury risks. I also want to emphasize that many sports-related concussions occur because coaches and team owners do not take the necessary precautions. In these cases, it may be possible to file a claim for compensation.
NFL Rule Changes Have Not Made Football Safer
The article in Forbes discusses a new study published in the journal BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, which argues that the NFL rule changes made over the last 10 years have not made professional football any safer and, most significantly, have not reduced head injury rates.
The researchers behind the study clarifies that the data they obtained supports “the argument that new, well-intentioned rules adopted every season by the NFL have been proven to be too weak to make the NFL game safer.”
In addition to TBIs, including concussions, any safety measures implemented by the NFL have also been relatively ineffective at reducing rates of other types of injuries, as well. While the rule changes do not make concussions any less likely, they also do not prevent NFL players from sustaining leg, arm, back, and other types of head injuries.
Indeed, the research demonstrated that there “was no statistically significant change—positive or negative—in the number of NFL athletes who suffered leg, back, or head injuries,” and rates of arm injuries actually increased. Moreover, during the last decade, the data showed a “strong increase in the number of games missed due to head injury.”
Contact Me to Learn About Brain Injury Claims
Did you sustain multiple concussions or other TBIs while playing sports? Was your child injured on the field during a youth sporting event? Depending upon the specific circumstances surrounding your case, you could be eligible to obtain compensation by filing a catastrophic injury claim. I know how important it is to be compensated for your losses.
If another party is responsible for your brain injury, I’ll Make Them Pay!® I have years of experience serving Cleveland residents with catastrophic injury claims, and I am committed to doing everything I can to ensure the at-fault party is held accountable. Call my office today at 877.944.4373 to learn more about how I can assist you with your claim.
