Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
Millions of children participate in youth sports every year. Generally, participating in a team sport is a fun and pleasant experience. It can also be a great learning experience for a child. Team sports can help teach leadership, team work, and sportsmanship. In some instances, participating in youth sports leads to serious personal injuries including but not limited to concussions and traumatic brain injuries. Safety is key to preventing or reducing the severity of head injuries when a child is participating in youth sports.
After two Georgia high school football players died during practices of 90-plus degree heat, authorities began to explore whether the hot weather contributed to the death of these athletes. The nation’s largest pediatrician group says that healthy children and teen athletes can play sports in hot, steamy weather, but only if precautions are taken.
Doctors in Texas believe that incidents of child eye injuries increase during the summer months. Doctors in Permian Basin said it could be anything from the lack of adult supervision to the lack of safety eye wear that contributes to an increase of child injuries under the age of 16.
The proper anchoring of bounce houses is vital to the safety of children in Arizona and other States. Some weather can be predicted with the daily forecast. Of course, there are times when an unexpected or sudden weather event takes place and wreaks havoc in an area. In Marana, Arizona, it was reported that a “microburst” took place and picked up a bounce house that was being used by a 10 year old girl and a 7 year old girl. The 10 year old girl was carried for over 100 feet before she then fell out of the bounce house structure. It was reported that the girl suffered serious head lacerations and other injuries.
Some parents are calling hockey rings “arenas of aggression,” and there may be some truth to the novel nickname. One parent of a youth hockey player said his 12-year-old child had already sustained three concussions and multiple neck and back personal injuries. Most parents are unaware of the significant, long-term damage concussions can have on children, mainly because the brain is still in developmental stages during one’s youth.
The Staples Center is the home of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball team. The Staples Center is also the focal point of an investigation regarding the death of a 2 year old boy (Lucas Anthony Tang) who fell from a luxury suite while attending the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors. The incident took place on November 21, 2010 when Lucas fell over a low wall in one of the luxury suites at the Staples Center. The fall incident took place from the third level top tier of the luxury suite just minutes after the game ended in a victory for the Lakers.
Child athletes sustain concussions more frequently than the average parent or coach would imagine. For example, take the recent situation of 11-year-old Rachel Ernst. Rachel was playing in a soccer game when Rachel and an opponent jumped for the ball, missing the ball and hitting each others skulls instead. After a trip to the emergency room, Rachel was diagnosed with a mild concussion. She is now one of a dozen youth athletes that are participating in a local study aimed to reveal the consequences of concussions in teens and children.