As anyone who watches pro football, or has kids who play in youth sports knows, head injuries and concussions are becoming increasingly concerning the problem. This past year, the City of Boston started its bicycle sharing program called Hubway, which allows bike riders to pick up a bicycle from various locations throughout the city to use for easy transport from place to place. Other cities have followed suit and are now starting bike-sharing programs of their own. As great an idea as it is, though, one significant problem has been that there were no helmets offered with those bicycles. Recently, Mayor Menino has indicated that the city will now offer helmets to riders using the Hubway bikes. The mayor is to be commended for recognizing this important health issue and taking steps to remedy this problem. Now, Boston has implemented another initiative through a city ordinance that requires public and private schools, youth sports organizations, after-school athletic programs and community centers to have concussion training and management procedures in place before teams can take the field. More cities and towns are tackling this problem through efforts designed to protect young athletes from the hazards of head injuries.
But these injuries don’t occur only in sports. Car, motorcycle and bicycle accidents, falling objects at a retail store, slip and fall incidents, accidents at work head injuries and concussions can occur in many different settings. For example, they can occur from the acceleration and deceleration forces associated with a whiplash injury, even where there is no direct trauma or impact to the head. Head injuries and concussions can cause a host of problems from relatively mild problems like headaches to more severe cognitive problems such as memory loss, impaired attention, and speech deficits, to even more severe problems such as depression, extreme mood swings, and volatility. While these injuries may get better over a period of weeks or months, the consequences of these injuries can sometimes last much longer ‘ something called post-concussive syndrome ‘ that may involve ongoing medical and psychological treatment, extended periods of time out of work, the loss of one’s career, and sometimes the loss of one’s relationships with family and friends.
If you or someone you love has suffered a concussion or a head injury due to an accident whether at work, on someone else’s property, or on the highway the attorneys at Keches Law Group, P.C. have handled hundreds of these types of cases and are here to help you navigate the challenging and complex legal landscape to resolve your case.
