New Laws To Protect Florida High School Athletes From Head Injuries
May 1st, 2012
Florida legislators have passed two laws that address the issue of concussions and playing time for high school athletes. The bills require that coaches immediately remove students from competition or practice if they may have sustained a major head injury. The student must obtain a physician’s clearance before returning to practice or play. They also requires that an athlete’s parents sign an informed consent document acknowledging their awareness of the risks to their children before he or she is allowed participation in any practice or game. The law had failed to pass over the last two sessions but representatives convincingly voted positive in 2012.
Best Place for Player With Possible Concussion
Many concussions among high school athletes go unreported. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about 100,000 high school athletes per year received concussions from 2005 to 2008. The Brain Association of Florida estimates that more than 40 percent of its athletes with serious head injuries are permitted to return to competition or practice before their symptoms have fully dissipated. A person’s brain does not fully develop until he or she reaches the late 20s, so young people are especially at risk for brain injuries from concussions.
Along with requiring school athletes to get medical clearance after a head injury before returning to play, the legislation asks that all state and independent sanctioning boards for all youth sports adopt policies about concussions to educate parents, coaches and administrators. Coaches will also have to take an online class about concussive injuries and their symptoms.
The law strengthens a claim an athlete or his or her family would have against a school, school district, or youth league if a coach either disregarded an obvious head blow to a player during a practice or game and allowed the player to continue, failed to have the youth examined by medical personnel, or permitted the player to return to play without medical clearance.
Coaches and administrators have a duty to athletes to take all reasonable steps to keep them safe while considering that contact sports can and do result in injuries. Having medical personnel available at practices may be not practical for all schools or teams, but being educated in recognizing concussions and not allowing their athletes to continue until examined by a physician and being cleared to play is now a statutory obligation.
Head blows are not uncommon in sports like football so coaches need to be aware of those times when a player is slow to get up. Players cannot be afraid to tell their coaches if they feel dazed and coaches are obligated to learn to recognize signs of a head injury or at least have someone readily available who has that training. If players and their parents are also educated about the symptoms of concussion or head trauma, they can also take steps to advise coaches of a possible injury and remove themselves from play, if necessary.
In any event, Florida youth and high school coaches and administrators may now find it difficult to not be civilly liable for any traumatic brain injuries (TBI) sustained by a player who sustained a head blow and was not immediately taken out of practice or a game, or was allowed to return before being examined and cleared by a physician.
Florida legislators have passed two laws that address the issue of concussions and playing time for high school athletes. The bills require that coaches immediately remove students from competition or practice if they may have sustained a major head injury. The student must obtain a physician’s clearance before returning to practice or play. They also requires that an athlete’s parents sign an informed consent document acknowledging their awareness of the risks to their children before he or she is allowed participation in any practice or game. The law had failed to pass over the last two sessions but representatives convincingly voted positive in 2012.
Best Place for Player With Possible Concussion
Many concussions among high school athletes go unreported. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about 100,000 high school athletes per year received concussions from 2005 to 2008. The Brain Association of Florida estimates that more than 40 percent of its athletes with serious head injuries are permitted to return to competition or practice before their symptoms have fully dissipated. A person’s brain does not fully develop until he or she reaches the late 20s, so young people are especially at risk for brain injuries from concussions.
Along with requiring school athletes to get medical clearance after a head injury before returning to play, the legislation asks that all state and independent sanctioning boards for all youth sports adopt policies about concussions to educate parents, coaches and administrators. Coaches will also have to take an online class about concussive injuries and their symptoms.
The law strengthens a claim an athlete or his or her family would have against a school, school district, or youth league if a coach either disregarded an obvious head blow to a player during a practice or game and allowed the player to continue, failed to have the youth examined by medical personnel, or permitted the player to return to play without medical clearance.
Coaches and administrators have a duty to athletes to take all reasonable steps to keep them safe while considering that contact sports can and do result in injuries. Having medical personnel available at practices may be not practical for all schools or teams, but being educated in recognizing concussions and not allowing their athletes to continue until examined by a physician and being cleared to play is now a statutory obligation.
Head blows are not uncommon in sports like football so coaches need to be aware of those times when a player is slow to get up. Players cannot be afraid to tell their coaches if they feel dazed and coaches are obligated to learn to recognize signs of a head injury or at least have someone readily available who has that training. If players and their parents are also educated about the symptoms of concussion or head trauma, they can also take steps to advise coaches of a possible injury and remove themselves from play, if necessary.
In any event, Florida youth and high school coaches and administrators may now find it difficult to not be civilly liable for any traumatic brain injuries (TBI) sustained by a player who sustained a head blow and was not immediately taken out of practice or a game, or was allowed to return before being examined and cleared by a physician.
