An excellent new video helps explain how to spot whether an athlete has suffered a concussion.  Concussions in sports, and especially football, have been a large part of health news lately.  Traumatic brain injury attorneys like me have been waiting for years for this focus to finally be placed.  I see all too often the consequences of failing to recognize concussion, and it is heartbreaking to know that many of these consequences, such as brain hemorrhaging, further neurological injury, and even coma or death, could have been prevented if proper evaluation had taken place after someone suffered a hard hit to the head.  I encourage everyone who has a connection to athletics, whether it be coaches, training staff, athletic trainers, parents, and student-athletes, to click on the following link.  What you learn may save a life.
http://uwtv.org/programs/displayevent.aspx?rID=30255&fID=6574

I finally see that the national media is paying attention to what brain injury lawyers such as myself have known for years.  60 Minutes did a feature segment on the dangers of high school sports and coaches and trainers not knowing the susceptibility of the brain to further injury after suffering just one concussion.  I have posted on this blog before about the necessity of trainers knowing the symptoms of a concussion, and the proper treatment and protocols for what to do if a high school athlete suffers a head injury.  These dangers obviously extend into the college and professional ranks as well, but it is high school players that are especially vulnerable, given the restricted budget expenditures for medical and athletic training  that many schools face.  Parents are ultimately responsible for insuring that coaches, trainers, and other football support staff (in addition to any other sport that involves potential brain injury such as baseball, lacrosse, and soccer) know how to recognize a head injury, that schools have proper policies for prevention and treatment in place, and that student-athletes are protected.  For more information and a link to the full story, please click on the following:  http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5377319n