Case Studies:
Second Impact Syndrome: Head Injury in Athletes

The Problem
Brandon Schultz, a 16-year old high school athlete in Anacortes, Wash., sustained a blow to the head during a school football game. The following week, before he had healed from the first concussion, he played football again. After a seemingly harmless tackle, Brandon collapsed and fell into a deep coma. Doctors performed emergency surgery to reduce swelling in his brain and followed up with three more brain operations. The young man endured weeks of intensive inpatient care and years of rehabilitation.

Today, physical and psychological problems have forced Brandon to live in supervised housing in another state. He can no longer think clearly or express himself adequately. Clinical experts describe Brandon's condition as a "permanent state of adolescence". He is haunted by the memory of the above-average student, athlete and carefree teenager he used to be.

The Legal Process
On behalf of the family, attorney Michael Nelson filed a lawsuit against the Anacortes School District. The suit claimed the district failed to use reasonable policies and procedures for head injury management, did not provide its coaches with proper training, and did not require a "return to play" note from a doctor following a concussion.

Before filing suit, Nelson researched other catastrophic brain injuries involving athletes. He found Brandon's brain injury was a classic case of Second Impact Syndrome (SIS), a rare, usually fatal condition which may occur when a person sustains a second concussion before healing from the first. Nelson's suit, filed upon these conclusions, was the first such litigation to argue SIS as both a liability theory and as a damage consequence.

The Results
Mike Nelson reached a settlement with the Anacortes School District that was felt to be adequate to cover Brandon's lifetime needs which experts placed at over twelve million dollars ($12,000,000). As part of the settlement, the Anacortes School District also volunteered to help fund a speaking tour for Brandon's mother, allowing her to educate coaches, school officials and parents about the dangers of concussion, return to play and SIS.