The Dangers of Cheerleading
The dangers of cheerleading are in the news again, this time discussed in a piece in today’s Chicago Tribune. Safety precautions and proper oversight are reportedly lacking in cheerleading. The resulting injuries are disproportionately serious and traumatic. According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, “Cheerleading injuries resulting in hospital emergency room visits have increased almost sixfold since 1980, to nearly 30,000 in 2008,” the Tribune article points out.
Additionally, the article points out other statistics. Statistics from the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at the University of North Carolina reveal that from 1982 until 2008 disabilities or deaths resulting from head or spine trauma are almost double for female high school cheerleaders as compared with all female sports combined.
To read the article go here.
Robert Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices, wrote a column on this very issue in the current October, 2009 issue of the Chicago Lawyer. To view Mr. Clifford's article, please click here.
