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The safety, or more specifically the lack thereof, of football helmets has been a source of concern for some years. One of the problems is that it is common for a football helmet to be used for many years when its condition can deteriorate such as its foam cushioning becoming too stiff or the plastic helmet becoming too brittle from aging, leaving the players more vulnerable to concussions and other head trauma. There are no laws that place a time limit on how long a helmet can be used. Football helmets more than 10 years old are worn by about 100,000 young players every fall. Although there are tests that the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) requires when helmets are refurbished, a few years ago

On January 26, 2011, Democratic lawmakers reintroduced legislation, Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act, that would set minimum safety standards for concussion management in public schools across the country. The legislation would, for the first time, ask school districts to implement a concussion safety and management plan. It would require schools to post information about concussions on school grounds and on school websites. It would also support when in doubt, sit it out policies for students suspected of sustaining a concussion during a school-sponsored athletic activity. The National Football League

Football helmet safety standards are currently set by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE), a nonprofit corporation. The testing method used today is essentially the same as was established in the 1970s. The original goal was to prevent sudden death, skull fractures and brain bleeding in football, a goal that has been achieved. But the hot topic today in football is concussions, an injury todays football helmets cannot eliminate. The NFL acknowledged that the lack of a perfect helmet contributed to its decision to use big fines and the threat of suspensions to cut down on dangerous hits.Earlier this month Inez Tenenbaum, the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said at a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing that her agency is working to impr

The sports pages continue to be filled with articles about athletes who suffer concussions and other head injuries. A hot topic this week is the National Hockey Leagues consideration of imposing a rule effective this season - as opposed to next season) - to prohibit shots to players heads from behind or blindside (considering that such contact bears no relation to the skills of playing the game on an individual or team wide basis it seems almost incomprehensible that such hits are presently legal so long as there is no finding of intent to injure). Now, in what has been reported to be a first in the recent years since concussions in football players became a matter of public scrutiny, a former professional football player has filed a lawsuit for medical malpractice against a team doctor who he claims mistreated his concussion two years ago, resulting in permanent injury. The study, published this past Monday in Pediatrics, analyzed 67 popular movies from 2003 to 2007 that were rated G for general audiences or PG -- parental guidance suggested. 958 person-scenes were examined: 524 (55%) depicted children and 434 (45%) adults. Twenty-two person-scenes involved motor vehiclecrashes or Tagged with: Consumer Issues Sports Safety Childrens Safety Bicycle Safety Automobile

The sports pages the last several months have been filled with reports of Congressional hearings and testimony concerning concussions and the National Football League particularly the long-term health effects of head injuries on players. Years ago when people thought about football players injuries, the attention was focused more on injuries such as knee injuries and other effects on bone structure, such as arthritis. When I was in law school, research I undertook in connection with a project revealed statistics that showed that the life expectancy of professional football players was lower than the general population because of such injuries.

On Tuesday, the Suffolk County Legislature approved unanimously a bill that would require county-contracted youth sports agencies to develop a written policy to address incidents of a possible or actual concussion or other head inj

With the onslaught of cold weather and the forecast for snow, one feels the urge to hit the ski slopes. One of the most trustworthy names in ski bindings for many, many years is Salomon. But last month the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Salomon, announced a voluntary recall of about 10,000 alpine ski bindings and directed consumers to stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. The manufacturer has received two reports of injuries, including a broken leg and a knee injury. The hazard is that the toe component of the ski bindings could fail to fully secure the ski boot to the ski binding, causing the binding to release unexpectedly. This could cause the skier to lose control or fall and suffer injuries. The recall involves the Salomon alpine ski bindings with models LZ 7, LZ 8, LZ 9, LZ 7 SR, LZ 8 SR, LZ 8 SC, and J LZ 9 and the Atomic ski bindings with model Evox 2.8, Evox 2.8+, Evox 2.8++, and FFG 8. “Salomonâ

A Dallas Cowboys scouting assistant paralyzed and a special teams coach whose neck was broken in the May 2, 2009, collapse of the teams practice facility due to high winds filed separate lawsuits against the Pennsylvania-based company that built the structure and several other companies involved in the construction and maintenance. Cowboys scouting assistant Rich Behm was paralyzed from the waist down and 11 others were injured when the structure was toppled in high winds. Special teams coach Joe DeCamillas suffered a broken neck in the collapse. Summit Structures, the company that built the practice facility. Summit, an engineer and five other companies are named in the lawsuits. The suits contend that the structures concrete foundation was improperly constructed and that the practice facility should have been repaired or rebuilt after problems with the design were discovered in 2007. The lawsuits state that the Cowboys were informed that the "design defects i

Two stories recently in the news raise questions about what risks are assumed by baseball fans attending games. One story involves a minor-league game last year, at which pitcher Julio Castillo threw a baseball that went into the stands during an on-field melee in Ohio, striking a fan who suffered a concussion. Castillo was recently sentenced by a judge in Montgomery County, Ohio, to 30 days in jail and three years probation. The other story involves a minor-league game in 2003, at which 4-year-old Emilio Crespin was with his family at a picnic table in the left field stands before an Albuquerque Isotopes game when a batting practice home run fractured his skull. An appellate court recently held that his parents can sue the minor-league team and the city. The 22-year-old Castillo was pitching for the visiting Peoria Chiefs, a Chicago Cubs affiliate, when the 10-minute brawl broke out during a game against the Dayton Dragons. Castillo testified at a non-jury trial tha

The annual ritual of the NFL draft was held a few weeks ago and teams are now holding their rookie minicamps to get a better look at the players they selected. Whether a players college career was affected by injury was a often a major factor in the evaluation of the player. But not all injuries are created equally, or, it should be said, affect positions equally, according to a study co-written by medical personnel from two N.F.L. teams published in the April 2009 issue of The American Journal of Sports Medicine. The study tested the effect of specific diagnoses and surgical procedures on the likelihood of playing and length of career in the league by position. The doctors who authored the study asserted that the relationships were strong enough for teams to consider them when making draft picks. This is the first study to look at how specific injuries may make or break a professional football career. The effects of injury on the likelihood of playing in the le