Coaches in South Carolina schools must now take the possibility of head trauma very seriously. A new law requires an on-site examination for any injury that could be considered a concussion. Players who display any signs of a head injury must be removed from a game immediately.

If a physician, physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner or an athletic trainer evaluates an athlete and finds no symptoms of a concussion, the athlete may return to the game that day. However a student who is found to be at risk of a concussion must have a doctor’s written approval before returning to the team.

In addition, the new law requires school districts to provide a concussion-information form to every coach, volunteer, student-athlete, and parent or guardian of school athletes. Before students can participate in school-based sports, parents or guardians must sign this document.

While it is good news that South Carolina is now recognizing the dangers of concussions in student-athletes, the law lacks an important component that other states include. Mandatory concussion training for coaches, officials and athletic trainers is not mentioned in the South Carolina law.

According to a study published earlier this year in the American Journal of Public Health, a little over half the states with youth-concussion laws require some type of training for coaches. A few other states demand that athletic trainers and officials take concussion courses.

South Carolina is now the 49th state to adopt a youth-concussion law. Mississippi is the only state without laws addressing concussions among student-athletes.

Need Legal Help?

A traumatic brain injury can result from any external impact. School sports may cause serious head injury or concussions that may lead to lifelong issues. If you or a loved one has received a traumatic brain injury because of somebody else’s negligence, contact our South Carolina personal injury attorneys at Joye Law Firm. Call (877) 941-2615 or use our online form so our attorneys can offer you advice about your rights.

About the Author

Mark Joye is the Head of the Litigation Department at the Joye Law Firm. A Board-Certified Trial Advocate with nearly 30 years of litigation experience, he currently serves on the Board of Governors for the American Association for Justice and is a past president of the South Carolina Association for Justice. In a recent trial, Joye headed a trial team that secured $17 million for a family killed in a tractor-trailer accident.

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