Florida’s Youth Concussion Law Designed to Protect Against Brain Injuries

Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire) December 31, 2014 – In 2012, the state of Florida passed a youth concussion law designed to protect young athletes from brain injuries, joining more than 30 states that had already adopted such laws. 

Safety advocates say that such protections are badly needed. Of the more than 300,000 head injuries reported each year in high school sports, more than 90 percent are concussions.

“Measures like Florida’s youth concussion law provide some much-needed protection,” said Robert Joyce, a Tampa attorney with Joyce & Reyes who handles brain injury lawsuits. “Brain injuries can have serious long-term effects on a person’s life.”

The law, HB-291, mandates that whenever a young athlete is believed to have suffered a concussion or other head injury during a school sporting event, the player must be removed from the game or practice until the school receives written clearance from a doctor.

The law is intended to protect young athletes from the dangers associated with returning to play too soon after suffering a head injury, which increases the danger of another concussion. Repeat concussions can be more serious, taking longer to heal and running a greater risk of permanent neurological damage.

Under Florida’s youth concussion law, high school and younger athletes who suffer concussions are not permitted to return to play or practice the same day of the injury. Their return to the sport must be gradual, beginning with light activity, then moderate activity, under the supervision of an athletic trainer or other responsible adult. Only then can a doctor give final approval for a return to full-contact practice and play.

Learn more at http://www.joyceandreyespa.com Joyce and Reyes Law Firm, P.A. 307 S Hyde Park Ave Tampa, FL 33606 Call: 813.251.2007