North County Brain Injuries: New Study Addresses Prevalence Among Football Players

In Vista and throughout North County San Diego, contact sports carry serious brain injury risks. In particular, football poses significant risks of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and, in particular, risks of long-term degenerative brain disease that can lead to death. According to a recent report in The New York Times, these risks are even more common than previously suspected, and it is possible that even more football players develop a disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) than those currently cited.

What should you know about football and other contact sports, and the risk of CTE and other serious forms of brain trauma? Consider the following information from our Vista personal injury lawyers.

Long History of Brain Injuries and Contact Sports

For many years now, researchers have known that contact sports such as football, hockey, and soccer, especially American football, carry significant risks of brain injury. In particular, researchers have focused for a number of years on multiple concussions and how, over time, athletes who sustained multiple concussions during their careers ultimately develop CTE. As The New York Times reports, it was nearly 20 years ago that CTE was first linked to NFL players’ deaths. It is a debilitating degenerative condition that can only be identified posthumously, in other words, after death.

CTE has been linked to severe mood disturbances, memory loss, and other forms of cognitive decline, changes in behavior including increased aggressivity and impulse control, and dementia. Now, a new study says this devastating condition is even more common than previously thought.

Just How Common is CTE Among Football Players?

Nearly one out of every four former NFL players, nearly 25% of all former NFL players, to be clear, who died between the years 2016 and 2021 have been posthumously diagnosed with CTE. Some of those players were still in their 20s, while others were still quite young in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. Some lived until their 70s and 80s. Yet that number may not be entirely accurate, either. In fact, the number could actually be much higher in terms of the number of football players who develop CTE.

Indeed, as The New York Times reports, that figure of 25% does not include a large portion of brains that were not examined in the study, and “maybe many of them likely had CTE too,” the article says. With this new and devastating data, new injury lawsuits against the NFL and other organizations may emerge.

Contact a Vista Personal Injury Lawyer for Assistance with a Brain Injury Lawsuit Today

If you have a loved one who died and was later diagnosed with CTE, or if you or someone you love sustained concussions while playing sports and now have some of the debilitating symptoms associated with CTE, it may be possible to move forward with a civil lawsuit. An experienced Vista personal injury attorney at our firm can speak with you today to learn more about the details of your case and to discuss the party or parties who may be liable and may be named as defendants in a lawsuit. Contact North County Injury Lawyers today for assistance.