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Injured Collegiate Football Player Settles After Concussion Injury
Posted by: Keith Young
January 15, 2010

La Salle University recently agreed to pay $7.5 million to a severely brain-damaged player, an amount five times the school's annual athletic budget.  Preston Plevretes, a sophomore linebacker, was severely injured in a Nov. 5, 2005 game against Duquesne University, six weeks after suffering a concussion during practice. His attorneys argued that the university prematurely cleared him to return without having him undergo proper testing or be seen by a doctor and, as a result, Mr. Plevretes became a victim of  second-impact syndrome. 

This case underscores ongoing concerns and reports about the effects of concussions on football players.  Several NFL players have suffered head injuries this season, and a special committee has been appointed by the league to investigate the problem.  Last year researchers at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) at Boston University School of Medicine released a study about the sixth documented case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE in former NFL player Tom McHale, who died in 2008 at the age of 45, the youngest case to date.

The CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control reports that there are nearly four million sports-related concussions in the country annually, with an estimated 50 resulting in deaths.

Brain injuries can occur to anyone involved in a traumatic event such as car accident or being hit by a falling object on a work site.  It is critical that a patient see the right doctors and specialists that know how to evaluate and treat these conditions.  From a legal perspective, being hurt by someone else’s negligence that results in a brain injury requires representation from an attorney that knows not only the substantive area of the law of the underlying claim, whether it be a car accident or work related accident, but also knows how to obtain an award or settlement that will compensate the victim for his or her long term care and medical treatment.                

Perhaps if Mr. Plevretes saw the right medical professionals after the first concussion he suffered in practice, he would be living the life he intended to live instead of learning how to function again on a basic human level.     

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Tiger Woods: Above the Law?
Posted by: Keith Young
December 11, 2009

Tiger Woods' recent saga has put a spotlight on several issues, not the least of which is how celebrities and prominent athletes are treated when they are in legal hot water.  Reports began to surface in the week or so after the accident that Woods had been drinking earlier in the evening and was passed out on his driveway when the police showed up.  Moreover, there were reports that Tiger refused a blood test only fueling speculation as to his actual condition that evening.  The Florida State Attorney General’s Office dropped the matter citing lack of evidence and Woods was given a citation, even though the local police department wanted to pursue other charges.

Now, given the same set of facts as above, but replace Tiger Woods with you or me, would we have received the same treatment?  Probably not, but the fact that celebrities and athletes play by a different set of rules is nothing new.  This blogger even heard one talking head opine that adultery revelations would increase his marketability amongst the key demographic of sports viewers, to wit:  25-54 year old men.  There you have it.  Adultery has been wrong for you and I since Moses came down from Mt. Siani, but for Tiger Woods it will help him sell more Gillette razors. 

As always, there is a court of law and a court of public opinion in matters like this one.  OJ is the obvious example of when the court of public opinion has a different verdict than a court of law.  We’ll have to wait and see how the public opinion takes hold as Tiger tries to hit this one back on the fairway.  

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Aluminum Bat Case Results in $850,000 Verdict From Montana Jury
Posted by: Joseph Stanley
November 18, 2009

Are Aluminum Bats Defective?

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