Should Football Players Use Head Impact Sensors in Helmets?

July 2, 2014 / 12:12 pm

The National Football League is expanding a project that athletic supporters hope will address the ongoing issue of traumatic brain injuries and concussions in football. Many players this season will wear sensors called ‘head accelerometers’ in their helmets.

The devices are designed to assess each impact to a player’s head during a game.

Two companies are perfecting the sensors for use this fall, based on researchers’ feedback, plus information gathered from the NFL teams that participated in a 2013 pilot project, focusing primarily on logistics.

“We need a sample of…players across all positions…studying every play type possible,” one of the researchers said. “If we find [the sensors] have utility that could actually help an individual player, my hope would be that we would go league-wide.”

All 32 teams could implement the devices as soon as the 2015 season.

The project, after approval from the league and the players’ union, could lead to benefits like rule changes, improved equipment design and modifications to player behavior. Approval would clearly indicate that the players and the league are serious about addressing the subject of concussions.

Last year, the researchers were the only ones with access to the collected information. After the program goes live, however, coaches will have access to the data, creating the amazing opportunity for a team doctor to have real-time data informing decisions about whether to remove a player from a game.

Football Related Injuries Are Not Limited to the NFL

Traumatic brain injuries—when the brain strikes the skull or is injured by a penetrating object—can impair cognitive and motor function, and are certainly not limited to professional players. High school footballers have increasingly suffered brain trauma during games. If you are a parent of a teen who may have sustained a concussion or TBI, be sure to watch for sudden dramatic changes in behavior or personality.

Did You Know? Helmets were not mandatory in the NFL until 1943, and many were still made of leather until as late as 1949.

Colson Hicks Eidson – Injury Attorneys

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Dean is renowned as a top trial lawyer in the U.S. with 40 years of experience in complex civil litigation, personal injury, product liability, and professional malpractice. He has successfully represented large plaintiff classes and handled multimillion-dollar cases, including high-profile litigation such as the AeroPeru airplane crash and a Ponzi scheme settlement.

Dean has demonstrated a strong commitment to community service through various leadership roles. He has been actively involved with the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami, supporting access to the arts. He’s also been president of the Orange Bowl Committee and chaired the Super Bowl XXIX Host Committee. He served on the Florida Commission on Ethics and chaired the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. He previously served as President of the Dade County Bar Association and as a distinguished member of the Florida Bar Board of Governors. Most recently, the Coral Gables Community Foundation recognized Dean at its 2024 Annual Gala with the Education Award.

Click here to read the full guide.


About Colson Hicks Eidson

Colson Hicks Eidson is a renowned law firm based in Miami, Florida, that is recognized as one of the top trial firms in the United States. Built on a foundation of over 50 years of dedication forging strong client relationships, Colson Hicks Eidson handles local, national, and international litigation, with cases spanning from Miami, Florida, and throughout the United States, to matters in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Europe. Learn more at: www.colson.com.

MIAMI (March 12, 2025) – Every day, the lawyers at Colson Hicks Eidson are privileged to deliver meaningful litigation results for our clients while working alongside some of the finest attorneys and people we know. We are honored that Lawdragon recognizes our dedication to our craft and are pleased to announce that all nine of our partners have been named in the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers guide.

Lawyers for this guide are selected through Lawdragon’s process of independent journalistic research and submissions. Their selection process emphasizes lawyers who have demonstrated consistent excellence and have made notable impacts in their fields.

Click here to read the full guide.

The Firm’s recognized attorneys are listed below.

About Colson Hicks Eidson

Colson Hicks Eidson is a renowned law firm based in Miami, Florida, that is recognized as one of the top trial firms in the United States. Built on a foundation of over 50 years of dedication forging strong client relationships, Colson Hicks Eidson handles local, national, and international litigation, with cases spanning from Miami, Florida, and throughout the United States, to matters in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Europe. Learn more at: www.colson.com.

MIAMI (March 6, 2025) – This Women’s History Month, Colson Hicks Eidson congratulates partners Julie Braman Kane and Stephanie Casey who were named Florida Trend Legal Elite NOTABLE: Women Leaders in Law for their significant contributions and leadership in the legal profession.

Stephanie was recognized for her representation of injured consumers and her skills in complex litigation, including recent successes in ERISA health insurance benefits cases. Acknowledged by Chambers USA as “an excellent lawyer,” she actively contributes to the legal community as a Board member and former President of the South Florida Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, reflecting her commitment to mentorship and leadership in the profession.

Julie was recognized for her representation of plaintiffs in high-stakes personal injury and complex class action cases, leveraging over three decades of experience. Her accomplishments include serving as lead and liaison counsel in significant multidistrict and consolidated national litigation and securing notable verdicts and settlements in products liability, medical malpractice and negligence cases. A strong advocate for the underrepresented, she has spearheaded efforts to safeguard electoral access and has held leadership roles in the American Association for Justice and the Miami-Dade Florida Association of Women Lawyers. Julie’s legal knowledge is further acknowledged by Lawdragon and Chambers USA, underscoring her significant impact on the profession and her commitment to advancing justice.

We are proud to celebrate Julie and Stephanie, whose recognition reflects their outstanding achievements and the firm’s exceptional success in securing significant judgments and settlements across various areas of law.

Read more: http://digital.floridatrend.com/december-2024/page-86

To schedule a consultation, do not hesitate to contact an attorney at our law office. We have experience in a wide variety of cases for clients located throughout the nation and around the globe.

About Colson Hicks Eidson

Colson Hicks Eidson is a renowned law firm based in Miami, Florida, that is recognized as one of the top trial firms in the United States. Built on a foundation of over 50 years of dedication forging strong client relationships, Colson Hicks Eidson handles local, national, and international litigation, with cases spanning from Miami, Florida, and throughout the United States, to matters in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Europe. Learn more at: www.colson.com.

Colson Hicks Eidson was proud to represent Brookfield Properties, owner of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel property in Ft. Lauderdale, during trial in a long-running case brought by David J. Stern, a unit owner in the residential condominium portion of the property, who alleged water intrusion and property damage in his unit. After a three-and-one-half week jury trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the jury returned an across-the-board verdict in favor of our client. 

“Our firm was proud to represent Brookfield Properties in this hard-fought trial, and we are pleased that the jury delivered a clear and decisive verdict in our client’s favor,” Curtis Miner said.

Congratulations to our trial team Curtis Miner, Zachary Lipshultz, Aziza Elayan, and Michelle Roberto, joined by Jodi Kleinick from Paul Hastings.  

About Colson Hicks Eidson

Colson Hicks Eidson is a renowned law firm based in Miami, Florida, that is recognized as one of the top trial firms in the United States. Built on a foundation of over 50 years of dedication forging strong client relationships, Colson Hicks Eidson handles local, national, and international litigation, with cases spanning from Miami, Florida, and throughout the United States, to matters in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Europe. Learn more at: www.colson.com.

MIAMI (January 22, 2025) – Colson Hicks Eidson is thrilled to announce that three of its partners have been named in the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America. This impressive guide selects its lawyers through Lawdragon’s independent journalistic research and submissions process.

Now in its 20th year, Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America recognized Colson Hicks Eidson attorneys Julie Braman Kane, Roberto Martínez, and Curtis Miner for their exceptional work in litigation, plaintiff class action litigation, and white-collar practice areas.

Julie’s work has made a significant difference in the lives of her clients. She has represented plaintiffs in personal injury, commercial, and class action litigation, participating in cases securing hundreds of millions of dollars for clients, including recent resolutions of a data breach class action as well as multiple personal injury and wrongful death matters.

Curtis has tried cases to jury verdicts against auto manufacturers and airlines and has obtained sizable settlements in individual and plaintiffs’ class action litigation, having served as Class Counsel in cases against financial institutions arising out of Ponzi schemes and as part of court-appointed leadership counsel in the Takata Airbags Products Liability Litigation MDL, securing over $1.5 billion in settlements for classes of millions of vehicle owners.

Roberto has secured significant client wins in high-profile cases, including participating in settlements and judgments totaling in excess of $6 billion.

Click here to read the full guide on Lawdragon.

About Colson Hicks Eidson

Colson Hicks Eidson is a renowned law firm based in Miami, Florida, that is recognized as one of the top trial firms in the United States. Built on a foundation of over 50 years of dedication forging strong client relationships, Colson Hicks Eidson handles local, national, and international litigation, with cases spanning from Miami, Florida, and throughout the United States, to matters in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, and Europe. Learn more at: www.colson.com.

A federal judge in Florida denied UnitedHealthcare’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a cancer patient seeking coverage for proton beam radiation therapy to treat his tongue cancer. The patient, Carlos Morera, alleges the insurer wrongfully denied benefits under his healthcare plan, forcing him to pay approximately $195,000 out of pocket for the treatment.

Stephanie A. Casey, a partner at Colson Hicks Eidson, represents Morera and successfully argued that the case should proceed.

“We look forward to presenting the merits of this case at trial. Proton beam radiation therapy has long been recognized as the standard of care for these types of cancers,” she said.

The court’s decision allows Morera to continue his fight to recover treatment costs. Read more about this case on Law360 here.