New Concussion Protocols Announced by the CJHL

October 23, 2018, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Hockey. The Canadian passion. We start our boys and girls playing young and some move on to play Junior and beyond. These kids though, face years of sub concussive impacts, concussions, and other challenges physically and emotionally. Many that move on to the Junior level live in billet arrangements with families who support them, and they lack the stability and consistency of living at home. For these young people subtle changes in mental health can be hard to spot.

In recognition of the problems that being a high-level athlete poses, the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). We are all becoming aware of the serious dangers concussion (TBI) pose to our immediate and long-term wellbeing.

A new program within the CJHL has established a mandatory concussion protocol across the league. It’s the first national concussion program in the Junior A league safeguarding the physical and mental health of the players. The CJHL has 133 teams with over 3000 players and this represents a big step forward in the protection of the players.

In a press release about the new policy CJHL president Brent Ladds said “The long-term effects of concussion are a growing concern for our organization, our athletes and their families. This is a major milestone for improving concussion management standards in junior hockey.”. The move likely will result in the protocol trickling ‘downstream’ to the feeder leagues to unify player protection policies.

The new concussion program is funded by the Co-operators. It will establish clear protocols and guidelines for the recognition, assessment, treatment and management of concussions.

The protocol uses HeadCheck and will:

• Allow team trainers to perform concussion protocols
• The league will monitor compliance
• Mobile apps will be used to run assessments and document suspected concussions
• Players concussion histories can be digitally tracked
• Player health files can be digitally transferred to allow for more informed healthcare decisions by the team, league or physicians
• Management of the data collected should allow the league to make improvements in payer safety

Many junior hockey players face shortened careers due to brain injuries, and many pro players have gone on to suffer cognitive decline and mental health crises due to the long term impacts of brain damage.

You can read more about the CJHL protocols here.

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Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

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