California sports fans care about their favorite athletes, but some former National Hockey League players are claiming that the league doesn’t care enough about their health. Ten former players are pursuing a class-action status lawsuit claiming that the league has not done enough to protect its players from brain injuries. Additionally, the athletes are seeking medical monitoring for their injuries and brain trauma linked to their athletic careers.
Recently, the National Football League agreed to pay $765 million to former players who developed symptoms related to concussions, a type of brain injury. Post- concussion syndrome is a milder form of the long-term health effects of brain injury or concussion, which can include dementia. Post-concussion syndrome can present with severe headaches or migraines, depression, difficulty concentrating and dizziness. Any one of these symptoms can make day-to-day life a challenge, especially when also recovering from the injury itself.
Recently, professional and college athletes have been taking a stand in relation to brain injury and concussions, following a string of suicides in professional wrestling and professional football, as well as more and more research about brain injuries. Car accidents are a common cause of head and neck injury and can have these same long- term effects.
Team doctors and coaches are now being held responsible for the health of their athletes. For people who have suffered head injuries as a result of car accidents or other personal injury events, or who experienced a doctor’s failure to diagnose their brain injury, compensation may be available. The expenses for the treatment of the injury and its associated symptoms can be costly.
Source: The Huffington Post, “NHL concussions lawsuit: 10 former players claim NHL hasn’t adequately protect against head injuries” Frederic J. Frommer, Nov. 25, 2013
