June 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 27

quire " the necessary proof of proximate causation in
a negligence action that is based on the Statute or Ordinance
Rule. " To be a proximate cause for an injury,
the negligence must be (1) a cause in fact, and (2) a
legally cognizable cause. In other words, this particular
injury would not have occurred in the absence of the
defendant's negligent act, i.e., violating the concussion
awareness statute.
Concussion Awareness Statute
As cited by the court, the concussion awareness statute,
HG § 14-50, provided, in pertinent part: " A youth
sports program shall make available information on
concussions, head injuries, and sudden cardiac arrest
developed by the State Department of Education. "
The required concussion awareness information had
to be provided in a program covering the following
four topics:
(1) The nature and risk of a concussion or head injury;
(2) The criteria for removal from and return to play;
(3) The risks of not reporting injury and continuing to
play; and (4) Appropriate academic accommodations for
students diagnosed as having sustained a concussion or
head injury.
In addition, the statute required a coach of a youth
sports program to review and implement the following
information:
A youth athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion
or other head injury in a practice or game shall
be removed from play at that time. A youth athlete who
has been removed from play may not return to play until
the youth athlete has obtained written clearance from
a licensed health care provider trained in the evaluation
and management of concussions.
Moreover, before a youth sports program could use
a facility owned or operated by a local government,
the statute also required a local government to provide
this concussion awareness information to the
youth sports program.
The HG § 14-50 concussion awareness statute defined
a " youth athlete " to include an " individual who
participates in an athletic activity in association with
a youth sports program conducted by a recreational
athletic organization. " The statute further defined a
" youth sports program " as a " program organized for
recreational athletic competition or instruction for participants
who are under the age of 19 years. "
Education Code
Concussion Policy
Section 7-433 of the Education Article of the Maryland
Code also governed concussion policy and awareness,
mandating the Maryland State Department of Education
(MSDE) to " develop policies and implement a
program to provide awareness to coaches, school personnel,
students, and the parents or guardians of students,
in collaboration with numerous agencies. " The
mandated concussion policy was required to address
the following four topics:
(1) The nature and risk of a concussion or head injury;
(2) The criteria for removal from and return to play;
(3) The risks of not reporting injury and continuing to
play; and (4) Appropriate academic accommodations for
students diagnosed as having sustained a concussion or
head injury.
To implement HG § 14-50, an information sheet was
to be created by MSDE " based upon publicly available
materials created by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention [CDC] or other public health agencies "
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June 2024 – Parks & Recreation

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