November 9/Oxford, MS: The Impact of Concussion Lawsuits on the Future of Football #MCLE

Once thought to be a badge of honor that doctors could quickly “cure” with a sniff of smelling salt, concussions have now become the subject of litigation that could threaten the future of football and other contact sports. Recent medical studies consistently show serious long-term effects for athletes who have had multiple concussions, including serious brain trauma and reduction in life expectancy. Where re-entering the game after a concussion, or even the week after a concussion, used to be common practice, there is an increasing burden on team physicians and the athletes themselves to consider the implications of going back onto the field. In light of this research, the four major American sports leagues have implemented concussion policies and procedures, but many question if these policies alone are sufficient to protect the athletes from permanent injuries.
The pending litigation against the National Football League by over 3,500 of its former players will be the first case to address the question of concussions on a larger scale.  At its heart are tort law questions of duty, causation, and assumption of risk by athletes, trainers, and administrators in responding to these injuries. How should courts allocate liability in such cases?
Further, this is a problem that transcends professional football, extending both to high school athletes and to female athletes. In fact, women’s soccer is the sport with the second highest amount concussions after football, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that nearly two million teenage athletes suffer brain injuries every year.
Presenters include a former NFL player, the lead attorney in the suit against NFL in Mississippi,  a head of the Concussion Center at Vanderbilt University, and two leading sports law professors.
Title:
The Impact of Concussion Lawsuits on the Future of Football
The Mississippi Sports Law Review's 2012 Fall Symposium 
By:
Mississippi Sports Law Review
When/Where:
Friday, November 9, 2012
1:30 PM to 3:30 PM (CST)
Room 1078
University of Mississippi School of Law
Oxford, MS
Speakers:

• Dean André Douglas Pond Cummings-Indiana Tech Law School
• Dr. Andrew Gregory- Vanderbilt University
• Dean Jeffrey A. Standen-Willamette University College of Law
• Philip Thomas, Esq.- Philip Thomas Law Firm
• Todd Wade- Retired NFL Offensive Tackle
• Moderator: Dr. William Berry III.

Credit:
Two free hours of CLE.
By:
The MISSISSIPPI SPORTS LAW REVIEW (MSLR) is a bi-annual journal that addresses current legal issues that arise in collegiate and professional sports.
As the lone representative sports law journal in the Southeastern Conference, the MSLR hopes to contribute to the growth of Sports Law as an academic discipline and add to its growing legitimacy in the academic community.
More:
http://msconcussionsymposium.eventbrite.com/