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Welcome to FootballConcussionFacts.com, brought to you by Circelli, Walter & Young, PLLC, a commercial litigation law firm based in Fort Worth, Texas.
What’s this issue all about? Watch below
The media, certain helmet makers, and the NCAA…
…have started to pay more attention to concussions suffered by football players in college competition. New “targeting” rules, improved helmets and implementation of a “concussion protocol” to examine sidelined players, who might be experiencing concussions during games, are just a few actions taken to lower the risk of concussions experienced by football players. Some of these steps began in the 2014 football season. But what about individuals who played college or high school football before 2014; who is watching out for them?
Did they suffer concussions due to a lack of proper equipment … or lack of concern for their safety and long-term health?
Circelli, Walter & Young, PLLC believes the NCAA and football-helmet manufacturers had virtually the same amount of information about the harmful effects of concussions in 1995 as they did in 2014. Steps taken three years ago to prevent ‒ or reduce the severity of ‒ concussions should have been implemented no later than 1995.
Through litigation already decided by the courts, the NCAA has set up a $70 million fund to monitor the health of players who suffered concussions during their football playing careers. But who will provide for their families, if and when the ill-effects of multiple concussions begin to take effect? Those symptoms might include permanent disabilities such as memory loss, depression or early onset of dementia.
Circelli, Walter & Young, PLLC is currently investigating cases of football players who suffered two or more concussions while paying either high school or college football between the years of 1995 and 2014. The experienced lawyers of Circelli, Walter & Young, PLLC are actively consulting with persons, or their loved ones, who played organized football during those years.
The NCAA and equipment manufacturers received substantial benefits from the past athletic performance of former football players on both the college and high school levels. If those football players suffered two or more concussions and now show symptoms of impairment of their brain functioning, then the long-term health care needs of those players should be paid for by the same parties who received so many benefits in the first place.
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Football Concussion Facts
Risk of Brain Disease
The most serious disease of the brainfound in athletes with repetitive brain trauma is “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy” (CTE), which is linked to the abnormal build-up of a protein called “tau.” Brain degeneration from CTE include the following symptoms: memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, suicidality, parkinsonism, progressive dementia. 5
Loss Of Memory & Other Impairments
Former football players suffering from “neuropathologically verified CTE” have been diagnosed by the National Institute for Health with symptoms included “impairments in … short-term memory, attention, concentration, organization, planning, problem solving, judgment, and ability to juggle more than one task at a time.” 6
Increased Depression
Players with two or more concussions are one-and-a-half times more likely to be diagnosed with depression. 7
Highschool Players Are More Prone To Concussions
Rates of concussion are much higher amongst high school football players than with NCAA or NFL players. 8
Effects May Not Be Felt Immediately
Football players examined by the NIH documented that the CTE symptoms gradually increased over time and became pronounced toward the end of a former football player’s life. 9
A 20% Chance With Every 60 Games
A college football team averaging 60 “game participants” (players) could expect one concussion every five games. 10
Can Cause Brain Swelling
“Mild Cognitive Impairment” (MCI) ‒ and sometimes fatal swelling of the brain ‒ can occur when an athlete sustains a second blow to the head (even a relatively light hit) before symptoms of the first concussion have subsided or the brain has fully recovered from the first concussion. Experiencing head injuries during this vulnerable post-concussion period is called “Second-Impact Syndrome” (SIS). 11
High Risk of Brain Disease
Players with three or more reported concussions are five times more likely to develop MCI, three times more likely to develop significant memory problems and to be diagnosed with depression, and possess an overall higher risk of developing early on-set of Alzheimer’s disease. 12
SIS Can Lead to Death
Medical experts believe SIS has been responsible (over several years) for at least 35 college and high school football players’ deaths. 13
Football Has the Highest Potential for Risk
Football has the highest rate of concussion in collegiate sports “per 1,000 athlete exposures” in comparison to every other sport. 14
Concussions Have Cumulative Effects
“Cumulative effects” from multiple concussions suffered playing football are dangerous. Top neurologists have concluded that “players with a history of previous concussions are more likely to have future concussive injuries than those with no history,” citing the fact that “one in fifteen players with a concussion may have additional concussions in the same playing season; and previous concussions may be associated with slower recovery of neurological function.” 15