In May 2009, Washington State enacted the Zackery Lystedt Law, becoming the first state in the nation to enact a comprehensive youth sports concussion safety law. As of February 24, 2014, forty-seven additional states and the District of Columbia [1] have followed suit by enacting strong concussion safety laws.
The key provisions of the Zackery Lystedt Law are as follows:
In October 2006, a 13-year-old middle school football player named Zackery Lystedt collapsed from a traumatic brain injury when he was allowed back into a game just 15 minutes after suffering a concussion. Zackery spent the next nine months in a coma, and even today still sits in a wheelchair, having regained his sight and ability to speak but still struggling to regain strength in his left leg and foot.
A state representative named Jay Rodne took a special interest in Lystedt case and decided tosee what he could do to protect other youth athletes, including his 10-year-old soccer-playing daughter, Kalyn, and 12-year-old football playing son, Rye, from suffering a similar fate.
In May 2009, Washington state governor, Chris Gregoire, with Zackery sitting next to her in his wheelchair and his father and 50 friends and family looking on, signed [4] the bill into law.
Updated March 1, 2013
Links:
[1] https://mail.momsteam.com/node/3015
[2] https://mail.momsteam.com/node/149
[3] https://mail.momsteam.com/node/2698
[4] http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2009221799_headinjuries15.html
[5] https://mail.momsteam.com/health-safety/every-state-has-youth-sports-concussion-safety-law
[6] https://mail.momsteam.com/health-safety/concussion-education-athletes-parents-still-not-getting-nearly-enough