Brain Injury Lawyer

I was pleased to receive an email recently from Patrick Fisher of Full90 Sports. I am sure that regular readers of this blog will remember Patrick from the series of posts I did regarding soccer head gear (if not, you can read the history here).

Patrick was pleased to tell me that ASTM International, one of the largest voluntary standards development organizations in the world, had just issued a standard for the quality and safety of soccer headgear. The adoption of a standard by such a respected organization should surely make the U.S. Soccer Federation rexamine its earlier position on the use of headgear in the sport.

From the November 11, 2005 Mercury News

DALLAS (AP) - A standard for the quality and safety of soccer headgear has been established by ASTM International, which includes more than 130 technical committees comprising over 30,000 members.

The standard is expected to help settle disputes over which forms of headgear best protect soccer players from head injuries. Although there's still no mandate among soccer associations, the standard potentially affects every player, from youth organizations to professionals.

In addition, the Football Association in England has an ongoing study into the effectiveness of headgear.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 200,000 children a year are treated for soccer-related injuries, including concussions. A recent independent study by Dr. Scott Delaney of Canada's McGill University in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine found the rate of head injuries for soccer players was similar to the rate for football players.

Jeff Skeen, founder and CEO of Full90 Sports, who has been working for 20 years in the field of protective headgear for athletes, sees the ASTM announcement as a landmark for player protection in soccer. Full90 is the world's largest provider of soccer headgear and a recent study funded by FIFA, indicated that Full90 Soccer headgear reduces the forces that cause concussions.

"In every sport - cycling, football, equestrian - it took time for changes to become generally accepted, and the first ruling always marked a significant milestone," said Skeen, whose company is the world's largest provider of soccer headgear. "I believe this decision will have the same effect on soccer, the world's most popular sport.

"We've been waiting for this decision for a long time."

ASTM, a non-profit organization, has been working on a standard for soccer headgear since 1999. The standard represents the consensus between experts in medicine, biomechanical engineering, manufacturing and consumer advocacy and defines requirements for coverage, labeling, and laboratory test performance.