Settlement Reached in Portland State University Concussion Lawsuit

Mar 07, 2016 | View Case Page

PORTLAND, Ore. – A confidential settlement agreement has recently been reached between the parties in Walen v. Portland State University, et al., in the Circuit Court of the State of Oregon, Multnomah County, No. 14CV12218, according to Hagens Berman.

In addition, PSU recently updated the Concussion Policy that is used by its Sports Medicine Staff.  The changes to PSU’s Concussion Policy included the following proposals that were made on behalf of Zachary Walen

  1. The risk of developing post-concussion syndrome will be included in the education provided to student-athletes and the training provided to coaches and staff.  
  2. The training of coaches and staff will include an explanation regarding the concussion healing process, which depending on the student athlete’s condition, can take weeks and possibly longer.
  3. Student-athletes will be informed of their right to seek, at their own cost, a return-to-play opinion from a physician who is not a member of the PSU Sports Medicine Staff.  The most conservative opinion will be followed. All student-athletes will be informed of this option during the education provided to student-athletes.
  4. At the student-athlete’s request and with his or her consent, the parent(s) of a concussed student-athlete will be informed if their son or daughter has been diagnosed with a concussion and when the student-athlete has been cleared to return to full sport participation. All student-athletes will be informed of this option during the education provided to student-athletes.

Given the recent changes made by PSU to its Concussion Policy, Zachary Walen states, “I love the game of football and if I could, I would choose to still be playing.  I'm proud to be a part of the implementation of new policies that will positively affect all student-athletes enrolled at Portland State University.”

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