Never before has there been so much awareness about head trauma in sports, especially football. Concussions put careers in danger and now there seems to be more caution regarding the injuries than any past generation received. Sometimes though there are shortcomings with troubling consequences later on in life.
Alex Isaac, a former football player at Division 3 Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio has filed a lawsuit against the school, accusing the school of failing to recognize, diagnose, test or treat him for symptoms of a concussion, as reported by USA Today. According to the report, Isaac states he was allowed to play in full-contact activity without receiving the proper evaluations for head trauma. Isaac claims to have reported symptoms that went untreated.
The NCAA and school each have standard procedures in place for head trauma care, although ultimately the decision on how to determine when players may return to the field is in the hands of each individual school. It is Isaac’s claim these were ignored in order to rush him back to the field.
“Not only did Baldwin Wallace medical staff ignore the signs and symptoms of Isaac’s clear concussion, but they did so repeatedly and in the face of NCAA and college-wide protocols set in place to keep student-athletes safe,"said Steve Berman, an attorney representing Isaac in the lawsuit. “Isaac clearly identified his symptoms to medical staff, and Hagens Berman [the law firm filing the lawsuit] finds it deeply disturbing that he was encouraged to continue participating in games and practices.”
On a somewhat related note, on Tuesday Utah announced quarterback Travis Wilson was given medical clearance to return to football activities after seeing his 2013 season end short due to head trauma.