Football has been one of many sports mired in a national controversy over high-impact sports and brain injuries among athletes. High schools across Colorado have upgraded their football helmets after local media outlets uncovered that many schools were using low quality helmets. Some Colorado schools have been using helmets that had been among the lowest rated for safety and performance. Virginia Tech uses a five-point score system to rate helmet safety, and 16 Colorado schools had been using helmets with a zero-star rating, helmets not recommended safe for use.

After it became widely known that unsafe helmets were in use, 14 of the 16 schools in question replaced their helmets with safer models. While it is still unsafe to use poorly maintained or designed athletic gear, no helmet can completely reduce the risk of a TBI.

Do Colorado Laws Protect High School Athletes from Brain Injury?

State legislation has pushed for reform in how to recognize concussions in football players and remove them from the field before further damage can be done. The Jake Snakenberg Act, named after a high school student who died from Second Impact Syndrome, is a strong example of new state legislation that addresses football concussions.

Under the new law, coaches must undergo training for responding to concussions, remove players from the field who have sustained concussions and only allow them to return once cleared by a healthcare professional.

Metier Law Firm uses experience and a passion for justice to help those who have sustained brain injuries due to the negligence of another party. We invite our readers to come join our community by visiting our Facebook and Twitter pages.

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Did You Know?: Helmet sensors are being implemented by football teams to monitor impacts. This will allow trainers and coaches to pull players off the field to find out whether they sustained a concussion.