Members of the San Diego Chargers medical staff were cleared by an independent panel of doctors who found no fault with how the staff handled a concussion suffered by former Pro Bowl guard Kris Dielman in 2011.
Dielman, who retired last year, was knocked down after allegedly suffering a helmet-to-helmet collision during a game that season. He continued to play despite struggling to keep his balance. After the game, he was diagnosed with a concussion. He suffered a grand mal seizure on the flight back to San Diego, effectively ending his career.
A joint committee of the NFL and NFL players union started an investigation last year. Their report found that two Chargers medical personnel — athletic trainer James Collins and Calvin Wong — witnessed the play in which Dielman got hurt. Further, the report suggested that Dielman told Collins that he was OK.
“Mr. Collins continued to check on him and insisted that Dr. Wong evaluate him after the game because of Mr. Dielman’s complaint of a headache,” according to the report. “Dr. Wong did so, and felt that it was clear that he had suffered a concussion.”
The report goes on to state that “in retrospect and after subsequently reviewing the video of the entire play in question, Mr. Collins, Dr. Wong and Dr. Chao thought it was clear that Mr. Dielman had suffered a significant head injury. However, while knowing this information on the field would have surely changed their sideline management during the game, they would not have changed the manner in which he was subsequently managed after the game nor on the plane ride back to San Diego.”
In summation, the panel found that “Mr. Dielman’s care from the moment his concussion was diagnosed was appropriate and consistent with the standard of care. The subsequent seizure, an extremely rare event, suffered by Mr. Dielman during the plane’s descent into San Diego could not have been foreseen nor prevented.”
Earlier this year, NFLPA Head DeMaurice Smith publicly expressed concerns about Chao and the fact that he had been sued for malpractice in his private practice.
“Dr. Chao’s previous medical liability issues only increase our desire to engage in a thorough and comprehensive credentialing process to determine which physicians are providing care to our players and how they were selected by the teams.”
Even after the revelation in the recent report, Smith was still concerned, issuing the following statement: “The concerns we have about Dr. Chao remain. The fact is that despite having previous malpractice liability (awards) against him, neither the Chargers nor the NFL initiated an inquiry or provided any oversight of the doctor the team selected to provide care for our players.”
Smith added that in light of the matter, the NFLPA “will take every step to hold the NFL and its clubs accountable to provide the care they are mandated to provide.”
