High school football concussions are one of the next big legal battles on their way to a court near you. The stream of likely lawsuits is originating from a previous high-school football player who has brought a class-action lawsuit against the Illinois High School Association. He claims that the school association has chronically mishandled the way that concussion injuries are handled among high school football players.
The lawsuit claims that head injuries are even more dangerous to youth than they are to those who might play in the NCAA or the NFL. Large-scale class-action law suits are already pending against the NCAA and the NFL, and apparently the next battleground involves high school football concussions.
The lawsuit claims that high school students are not given the proper education on what to do when they have a concussion or head injury. There currently are no rules or guidelines in most high school football programs to manage such injuries in a way that would be protect the young athletes from personal injury.
The high school football concussion lawsuit is not without controversy. Some claim that it is all about money and not particularly about player safety. Others claim that the protections that the lawsuit is demanding will not actually make any real changes in the outcome or frequency of high school football concussions.
In a similar NFL case, a settlement was reach for $765 Million dollars. This agreement was reached only after the NFL agreed that it would not put a cap on the amount of money that former NFL players could receive if they had a valid claim for injuries related to concussions while playing for one of the NFL franchises.
Class-action lawsuit filed over high school football
Matt Pfau is an attorney and founding partner at the law firm H & P. Matt has a background in business consulting, estate planning, business start-ups and bankruptcy and is licensed to practice in both Nevada and California. A partner in the firm H & P, he can be reached at 702-912-4451.
