Football is America's most popular sport, providing hours of enjoyable entertainment to avid fans. But it's not all fun and games for the players. Doctors believe head trauma suffered by football players while playing professional football may cause early onset dementia. Examinations of the brains of two now deceased players, Mike Webster and Andre Waters, revealed early onset dementia. Other former players currently suffer from similar injuries.
Last month, former Pittsburgh Steeler and San Diego Charger Ralph Wenzel became the first former NFL player to file a workers compensation claim in a California court against the NFL for injuries resulting in dementia. His lawsuit will be closely watched by the NFL to determine what its liability will be, if any.
HBO's sports magazine series "Real Sports" authored two stories regarding the NFL's long-adopted policy of ignoring concussions and allowing players back on the field immediately after sustaining a head injury.
The NFL has been forced to examine the long-term effects of America's most popular sport and has implemented new policies regarding the treatment of head injuries and concussions. Players are required to sit on the bench after sustaining a head injury, and equipment improvements and limiting head-to-head contact have also been implemented.
The long-term effects of the NFL's changes are unknown, but provide little support to former players who have already suffered injury. Of most importance is the recent revelation that any impact to the head causes some degree of brain damage. The damage may have less to do with extreme collisions than the cumulative effect of each seemingly harmless blow to the head suffered over the course of a player's career.
A. Jason Kerckhoff is a San Diego County personal injury lawyer and the President of Kerckhoff Law, APC, a California personal injury law firm dedicated to representing people who have been brain injured or killed, and the families of loved ones who have suffered death caused by brain injury.
A. Jason Kerckhoff has been successfully obtaining excellent results for his clients for more than twenty-five years. He has the highest rating in Martindale-Hubbell, which is the preeminent company that rates attorneys not only for their abilities, but for their ethics. These ratings are obtained by peers in the San Diego community, and a small percentage of lawyers are privileged to have achieved this rating.
