Ski Helmets and Traumatic Brain Injuries March 23, 2009

I recently took my family skiing to Jiminy Peak resort in the Berkshire Mountains, east of Albany, New York. This year, we introduced my 5-year old son to skiing. For his first lesson, we made sure that we bought him a helmet. As an attorney, after representing numerous clients who suffered traumatic brain injuries, I will not ride a bicycle without a helmet or allow my son to use his Razor scooter without one. What I never thought about wearing was a ski helmet. Helmets were always the uniform of downhill racers or snowboarders but not the average skier. For 30 years, I wore a hat and never thought differently despite what I experienced first hand as an attorney. When I was skiing this year, I couldn’t help but notice that something had changed. Helmets were not only more prevalent, they had become an essential piece of equipment. So I decided to buy one. I traded in the wool hat for a plastic and Styrofoam number, similar to a bicycle helmet. Surprisingly, it was very comfortable and warm to wear. When I was able to access the internet, I wanted to know how effective helmets are in preventing injuries. The answer is plainly obvious. The Winter 2005 issue of Ski Safety News cites the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s 1999 report “Skiing Helmets: An Evaluation of the Potential to Reduce Head Injury” which concluded that 7,700 head injuries could be prevented or reduced in severity, and 11 fatalities be avoided altogether, simply by helmet use.

Other studies have shown that head injuries constitute only 5-15% of all injuries from ski and snowboard accidents, yet are the primary cause of disabling injuries and death. A study by A. Stewart Levy, M.D. in the Journal of Trauma noted that although head injury represents only a small fraction of skier and snowboarder injuries overall, it is the leading cause of death and serious injury on the slopes, including traumatic brain injury, skull fractures, heamtomas and concussions. The use of helmets, they note, would undoubtedly reduce the incidence and severity of head injury and death among skiers and snowboarders. One patient in the study that was wearing a helmet fell down a 15 foot embankment and struck a tree. He suffered only a mild concussion and was released from the hospital after an overnight stay! The benefits are clear – always wear a helmet. At a cost of only $50 for a basic helmet, can you really afford not to be without one?

Frank Dito is a New York Personal Injury attorney specializing in New York real estate law , New York business law, and New York franchise law. You can visit his Law Firm Decker, Decker, Dito and Internicola website by clicking here, download his FREE New York Car Insurance book, or call him at 718-979-4300 or 1-800-310-5520 for a free case analysis.

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