January 23, 2012
Legislators in Colorado are looking to protect young athletes from the dangers of traumatic brain injuries by implementing a new law to regulate how this type of injury is handled. According to reports from 9 News, the Jake Snakenberg Act now requires that all coaches in the state for sports teams undergo specialized training to recognize the signs of traumatic brain injury.
The law is named after a young football player who died in September of 2004 from Second Impact Syndrome, a condition in which the brain rapidly swells after a second concussion, before symptoms of an earlier one have healed.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created the online training program, called Heads Up, and boasts that users will help users:
- Understand a concussion and the potential consequences of this injury.
- Recognize concussion signs and symptoms and how to respond.
- Learn about steps for returning to activity (play and school) after a concussion.
- Focus on prevention and preparedness to help keep athletes safe season-to-season.
Traumatic brain injuries, like concussions, can be very difficult to recognize for those without this special training, as the symptoms are not obvious to the untrained eye.
This is why the Colorado traumatic brain injury lawyers with the McDivitt Law Firm encourage not only coaches, but athletes and parents of athletes to undergo the training as well. Being able to recognize that there is a problem can be the first step in protecting a young athlete’s life.
