Traumatic brain injuries are a very common sports-related brain injury that can cause immediate conditions like dizziness as well as lead to more permanent conditions like brain damage.  Our brain injury lawyers believe that everyone at risk for a traumatic brain injury should do everything they can do to prevent it.  Some traumatic brain injuries, like concussions, will go away over time (albeit with lingering effects), but other injuries like hematomas or brain damage have the potential to cause the wrongful death.

The lesson as always, treat brain injuries seriously!  Unfortunately, aesthetics have proven to be a major hinderance in this regard as many athletes have opted against brain injury prevent because, well, they didn’t like they way it looked.

While early hockey masks look primitive when compared to today’s, they helped prevent head injuries for hockey players. (Source: United Mask and Party)

One of the first methods of brain injury prevention in professional sports, the goalie mask in hockey, was preceived to represent a lack of dedication to the art of goalie play.  The goalie mask was designed in 1959, but it wasn’t until 1974 that all goalies wore masks.  Sure, it may have appeared to be a sign of players being too soft at first, but after several goalies suffered head injuries from frozen rubber pucks hitting them at over 90 mph, their opinions on aesthetic beauty changed.

Can baseball players afford to wait 15 years to make this decision?

Baseball players are as stubborn now about a new baseball helmet designed by Rawlings (the S100) as hockey players were about goalie masks and helmets in the 1950s.  The S100 helmet has been tested to better absorb pitches thrown at close to 100 miles per hour.  Yet even with the results showing a clear benefit to athletes, players have criticized the helmet, claiming it to be too bulky.

How can they be so reckless with their lives when there is evidence the S100 can prevent serious head injuries?  Our brain injury lawyers hope baseball players will get over their hang-ups quicker than it took for all hockey goalies to wear masks.

Call us now at 1-858-551-2090 or click here for a free consultation with an experienced brain injury attorney after you suffer a brain injury and find out how we can help you.  We speak English and Spanish, and we look forward to providing advice for your case.  No fee if no recovery.

YOUR TAKE

What do you think about this issue?  Do you think athletes will take it upon themselves to wear the new protection?  Or will it take a league ruling that requires these new helmets to be worn by all players on the field?