Posts tagged "second impact syndrome"

When a person suffers a brain injury, the injury can have long lasting and life changing results. Often, people who suffer a traumatic brain injury are no longer able to live their lives as they once did and they need specialized care and assistance for the rest of their lives. When a person suffers a brain injury because of the negligent or careless actions of another person, the injury victim is entitled to compensation for his or her injuries.

Athletes are especially vulnerable to brain injuries in the form of a concussion. Usually, a concussion is caused by a blow to the head, and concussions can impair a person's mental activities, including speech, concentration, and balance. It is estimated that more than 300,000 Americans suffer a sports-related concussion every year. In addition, thousands of concussions result from car accidents and falls.

In 2005, Preston Plevretes was a 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker for LaSalle University. The November 5 game against Duquesne University would prove to be his last. While covering a punt, Plevretes collided with a Duquesne player at the 37-yard line and never got up.

About one month earlier, Plevretes sustained a concussion during practice in a helmet-to-helmet hit. Soon after, he was cleared to play by a campus clinic nurse and a team trainer. Though he still had throbbing headaches, he returned to the gridiron and sustained the hit and brain injury that ended his football career and changed his life forever.