Many Americans are avid fans of football. The sport’s popularity is evident in the number of people who attend football events in arenas and frequent sports bars in New Haven, Connecticut, just to see their favorite teams play in the Super Bowl and NCAA championships. Furthermore, football is a part of most high school and colleges. However, just like in any other physical sport, football players are vulnerable to injury. Because football is a highly competitive contact sport, the injuries that players sustain may be severe.

Recently, football enthusiasts were discomforted when they heard about the death of a high school football player in Georgia. According to the report, the player died after taking a hit during a scrimmage. The report says that the boy sustained a broken neck.

In connection to this incident, the team physician said that players cannot prevent or predict these kinds of injuries. However, he said that there are precautions that players at all levels can undertake. Athletes are required to take pre-participation tests to check neck motion and look for risk factors. This and proper tackling practices are the two keys to preventing a spinal cord injury.

This report shows how dangerous spinal cord injuries are. Since the spinal cord is a sensitive and important part of the human body, it only takes a split second for a wrong hit or position to alter the person’s life. Aside from football, readers in New Haven should also be reminded that spinal cord injury can also be a result of a car accident. Because the impact in a car accident can be far stronger than a tackle in football, accident victims are likely to suffer from worse injuries resulting in substantial medical expenses.

If a spinal cord injury results from the negligence of another person, the victim may file a personal injury lawsuit. The court may award the victim a fair amount of compensation to cover the costs of accident-related injuries and other damages.

Source: CBS Atlanta, “How spinal cord injuries happen, precautions to take,” Jennifer Mayerle, Aug. 20, 2013