Head Injuries in School Sports
Mike Patterson was interviewed for a January 16, 2012 news report by San Diego public radio station KPBS about a California trial over a head injury to a high school football player. The player is suing his school district over injuries he sustained in a game after he allegedly had complained to a trainer that he had a headache from a previous hit. Mr. Patterson is quoted about recent state laws like in California that now establish guidelines for when student athletes suspected of having head injuries will be allowed to return to play.
Washington was the first state to adopt such a statute, named the "Zack Lystedt Law" after a high school football player who suffered brain damage from returning to play after already having suffered a concussion. Mr. Patterson represented the school district in the lawsuit that resulted in that case. He and Don Austin, along with nationally renowned concussion expert Dr. Robert Cantu of the Boston University School of Medicine, will be presenting a special session on "School Boards and the Prevention of Concussions and Other Head Injuries" at the 2012 National School Boards Association Annual Conference in Boston, on April 23, 2012.