Seattle attorney files lawsuit against FIFA demanding changes to limit concussions
Aug 27, 2014, 3:00 PM | Updated: 5:58 pm
Concussions are a hot topic in sports and a class action lawsuit, filed by a Seattle attorney, targets the world governing body of soccer.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a group of current and former players, does not ask for monetary damages, rather it demands rule changes to minimize the risk of brain injury.
“The key here is that the players, who are bringing the lawsuit and their parents and I, in fact, we love soccer. We’re just trying to make it safer,” said attorney Steve Berman with Hagens-Berman.
The lawsuit filed in California, calls for changes at all levels of soccer. Berman said it’s estimated that youth players might head the ball as many as 1,000 times, or more, in a season.
“Those kids are going out there and they’re getting concussed or they’re getting traumatic brain injury from too many headers, so we’re talking about everyday soccer played here in America.”
The lawsuit calls for a medical monitoring program. Berman argues that referees, coaches and players themselves can’t know whether or not a player is hurt.
“A lot of time, you’ll see players trying to figure out whether they’ve been concussed and they make the decision whether to come back on the field or not. You cannot leave this to self-diagnosis,” he said.
On the professional level, the lawsuit recommends rule changes that allow for temporary substitutions when a player must get an evaluation for concussion.
For kids:
“Change the rules to limit the number of headers that people between 14 and 17 can take and eliminate headers under the age of 14, as the science of concussions has now pretty much demonstrated heading in young children is not a good thing,” Berman stated.
The soccer governing agency known as FIFA issued a statement saying the prevention and treatment of head injuries has always been a high priority. FIFA said it is backing scientific studies related to head injuries and is running a pilot program to monitor player injuries in the Swiss first division.
While the lawsuit does not seek damages, it would take care of injured or former soccer players through the establishment of a medical fund to test anybody who thinks they have lingering injuries from a concussion.
