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The issue of traumatic brain injuries in auto accidents made national news after Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced he would sit out a pair of races after back-to-back concussions at crashes in Kansas and Talladega.
Our Lawyers understand such injuries are far from uncommon
“You know your body and how your mind works, and I knew something was just not quite right. I decided to just try to push through and work through it,” Earnardt Jr. said according to USAToday. Earnhardt Jr. was little more than a rookie, and driving just in front of his late father in the 2001 Daytona 500, when Dale Earnhardt Sr. was killed after slamming into the Turn 4 wall on the last lap. Cause of death was a basilar skull fracture, caused when his head, propelled by the velocity of the collision, snapped forward in the accident.
NASCAR has since made many safety improvements, including a next-generation car that moves the driver toward the center, a head-and-neck restraint device and soft wall technology. However, the risk of concussions and other traumatic brain injuries has not abated.
