January is Winter Sports Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Month and a great time to recommit to taking steps to protect your head if you plan on engaging in a winter sport. It’s also an excellent time to consider your options if you sustain a brain injury while doing things like skiing, snowboarding, or ice skating.
The American Association of Neurosurgeons reports that only around 10 percent of all TBIs are sports-related, yet 30 percent of those come from snowboarding alone. The University of Washington has further found that as many as 25 percent of sports-related TBIs may come from downhill skiing, with snowmobiling not far behind. And while summer and fall sports, like football and skateboarding, may see a higher number of TBIs overall, the increased risks that come with winter sports warrants a month dedicated specifically to them.
You can help protect yourself against a TBI by wearing a helmet, staying in bounds, and sticking to slopes you are skilled enough to navigate. Never participate in winter sports alone and always notify people of your whereabouts. If you sustain an injury, having people know to call for help when you don’t come back can help save your life.
Inherent Risks
There are inherent risks involved in winter sports. For this reason, most states with commercial ski industries have passed laws protecting resorts from liability when someone is injured. However, while this is the case in New York, victims of winter sports accidents may still be entitled to seek compensation through legal action. The best way to determine if this is true in your case is through a free consultation at our Glen Falls office.
The attorneys at McPhillips, Fitzgerald & Cullum, LLP have decades of experience helping victims of TBI and other severe injuries get the compensation they need to make the fullest recovery possible. We can review your case to help you determine how to move forward during your complimentary case review.
Please call our Glen Falls office at 518-792-1174 to schedule your free consultation today. We fight for victims of serious injury living throughout New York.