A leading spinal specialist has called for the National Rugby League's concussion rules "to be expanded to include neck injury protocols, warning mismanaged injuries could cost the game tens of millions of dollars in lawsuits," according to Adrian Proszenko of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. Concussion "is one of the biggest issues in rugby league amid concerns players could sue if they could prove the game was negligent in its approach to head injuries." However, Dr. Adrian Cohen, an expert on neck injuries and their prevention, claims "every head injury is a neck injury until proven otherwise," and the NRL should mandate that clubs have the appropriate level of equipment and expertise to deal with potential neck injuries. Cohen, the former chief medical officer with the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service and the founder of NeckSafe, said that "some of those cases were due to mismanagement at the scene of the injury." Cohen: "If you've been hit hard enough to dislodge your brain or lose consciousness, then you’ve been hit hard enough to break a bone in your neck." Cohen said that he met with NRL Head of Football Todd Greenberg a month ago "to discuss his concerns." Cohen: "There are currently no protocols about neck injury at all" (SMH, 3/11).
