Safety and Risk Management : Injury Reporting Procedure

Injury Reporting Procedure

In the EPRU, all head and spinal/neck-related injuries are to be reported by the team captain within 24 hours to the EPRU Medical Director, Dr. Merrick Wetzler at mjwetz@aol.com with a copy to the EPRU President at president@epru.org. The information to be provided, as a minimum, is the player's name, phone number, injury description and the current status and location of the player.

As stated in the Medical and Safety section at www.usarugby.org:
A player who sustains a concussion should not play rugby for three weeks from the time of the injury, and will only be allowed to play after procuring written clearance from a qualified medical doctor. This medical clearance must be mailed to the medical director of the local union, and a copy must be kept by the team coach. These records must be kept for one year from the date of the injury, and preferably, kept on file as long as possible.

Managing Concussions During Rugby Matches (PDF)

The primary responsibility for conforming to this directive must belong with the individual with the concussion. However, the coaches, teammates, club officials, family, and friends of the individual also bear significant responsibility in preventing any participation in the game of rugby until the individual has been medically cleared to play or train again.

Any player with more than two definite concussions in a single three (3) month period, whether related to rugby or not, should not be allowed to return to play that season. Return to play in the following season should be allowed only with a typed clearance letter from a physician. This written clearance should be submitted to the EPRU President for review and approval by the EPRU Medical Committee prior to the player resuming training or match play.

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