With awareness growing of the risks of head injuries in different sports, what should you expect from teams, clubs and governing bodies?
Sports like rugby already recognise the need to assess and treat head injuries with care. But in other sports too - football, hockey, cricket, even cheerleading - incidents have shown the importance of having protocols in place to deal with concussion injuries.
Recent football association guidelines banning children from heading the b all in training also illustrate unease around the risks of head injuries or degenerative brain disease.
The dangers
All injuries to the head are significant. At the minor end of the spectrum, concussion can lead to headaches, drowsiness and loss of balance. But any head injuries, however insignificant they appear initially, can lead to more serious conditions such as dementia, epilepsy, paralysis and, even, death.
Recognition of a head injury is relatively straightforward in cases where the victim has lost consciousness. However, the majority of head injuries are ones where there is no loss of consciousness but rather a transient loss of alertness and/or a brief period of post-traumatic amnesia.
The latest protocols for dealing with concussion injuries, particularly in sports such as rugby and football, are designed to identify the extent of the injury sustained as early as possible, and to take the appropriate steps to minimise the risk of both short term and long-term effects. An early diagnosis of the injury is critically important.
The obligations on teams
There is an obligation on any team in charge of its players, and indeed the governing body of the sport, to ensure that:
- the appropriate protocols are in place
- those in charge of the game completely understand when such protocols should be used
- all personnel use them as quickly and correctly as possible.
Unfortunately, not all those in charge of the welfare of players are aware of their responsibilities. That needs to change.
Here at Calio Claims, we’re enthusiastic fans of many different sports, both as participants and spectators, so don’t let us frighten you away from taking part. But we’d encourage you to understand head injuries, and the protocols for dealing with them, and to ensure that any teams or clubs where you or your family play are aware of their responsibilities.
In addition, if you think you may have a claim on the basis that appropriate treatment was not provided in the correct timescale, or that protocols were not followed, we would be happy to discuss it.
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