Articles Tagged with TBI

When someone suffers a head injury, including a closed head injury which involves no noticeable bleeding, it often results in a pooling of blood between the brain and dura.  This pooling of blood, or even a bruise to the brain, results in the buildup of pressure that can cut of the flow of the blood to the brain.

skull-1415989In an effort to alleviate the pressure, doctors will sometimes choose to remove a section of the patient’s skull.  The procedure is known as a craniectomy.  While there is evidence that doing a craniectomy will prevent a patient from dying the hospital soon after arrival, according to a recent news feature from WebMD, the procedure may be leaving patients alive, but with permanent and extensive brain damage. Continue reading

Following the death of boxing legend Mohammad Ali earlier this summer, there has been a lot of news coverage about Parkinson’s disease in recent weeks.  There has also been a lot of head injury and concussion news as result of the recent movie starring Will Smith, and the injuries we are seeing in professional sports such as in the NFL.

457973__1According to a recent news feature from Time, doctors now have more evidence that there is link between victims of a serious head injury and those who develop Parkinson’s disease and possibly Alzheimer’s disease. Continue reading

Whenever someone receives an injury to the head, it is generally a good idea to determine whether the victim had suffered a concussion or other type to traumatic brain injury. In the old days, a person who was knocked unconscious was often shaken or administered smelling salts, and that would be all the care they received.  Years of medical research has proven that this is not the safest practice.

457973__1These days, we often hear about head injury protocols being taken when someone suffers a head injury or impact.  We often see if the person is oriented as to person, place, time, and date.  This is known as being oriented times four to first responders and mental health professionals.  It is in professional sports where we often hear that these protocols are being performed, and we have to wait see if the person suffered a concussion. Continue reading

In the past 10 to 15 years, doctors and researchers have made a lot of progress in treating traumatic brain injury.  One of the main reasons for this was because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Unlike in previous wars in which the United States has been engaged, our military had the technology to get wounded soldiers, sailors, and civilians off the battlefield and to a medical treatment facility, despite grievous injuries.

457973__1Much of these medical evacuations from the battlefield were due to the brave and amazing work of United States Air Force Pararescue Jumpers (PJs) and their counterparts in other branches of the military.  In the past, a soldier who suffered a massive head injury was likely given morphine by a medic or hospital corpsman and died on the battlefield. Today, the military is able to get them to a combat support hospital, and then via airlift to a level one trauma center in Germany within a matter of hours.  Continue reading

Mixed martial arts of “MMA” as it it often called includes the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as well as many other leagues and competitions. There is no question that these MMA fighters and events are becoming more popular after being watched by only a small group of fans for such a long time.  Rhonda Rousey has become a household name and is currently starring in major Hollywood motion pictures, and everyone was waiting to see what happened during her much publicized match with Holly Holm.  Unfortunately, that did not go so well for Rousey as everyone now knows, but that may be the least of these fighters’ problems, according to a recent news feature in the Irish Times.

457973__1As discussed in this article, around one third of all matches will result in one or both fighters suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI).   There have been a lot of studies on this after the recent releases about the injuries to NFL players, as well as the death of Joao Carvalho, who was a mixed martial arts fighter.  He dies as a result of complications stemming from a traumatic brain injury. Continue reading

According to a recent news feature form the Daily News, a Massachusetts man who suffered a broken back and skull fracture has filed a lawsuit against the New York City Building Department. The victim was injured when a tower crane fell off a tall building that was being constructed, and landed on the his parked car while he was still inside.  This resulted in the car being crushed. Plaintiff suffered serious and permanent personal injury.  He is asking for $30 million in damages for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and more.

825017_crash_carThe reason he is naming the city building department as a defendant is due to the allegations that the agency was negligent in connection with its responsibility to monitor the job site and crane safety. Continue reading

We have been hearing a lot about head injuries associated with playing football in recent years, and this past year, the issue was probably more of hot topic than ever before.  There was even a movie starring Will Smith aptly named Concussion.  However, head injuries resulting from playing football are not only a problem for college and professional athletes.

457973__1As a result of the high potential for brain injury, more and more parents are not allowing their children to play youth football once they are at an age where tackling is allowing.  Even some colleges, such as those that are part of the Ivy League football conference, have agreed to not allow any tackling during practice, which has become very controversial among those who think it will make games on Saturday less competitive. Continue reading

When we think of serious brain injuries, we often think about soldiers returning home from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan and about professional athletes. The new movie Concussion, starring Will Smith, focuses on how repeated hard hits to the head can result in serious concussions. Unlike in the past when we didn’t take concussions all that seriously, we not know they can lead to serious and permanent brain damage or death.

brainscanHowever, as doctors are now learning, a patient does not need to suffer a major head injury to get serious brain damage. In some cases, a hard bump on the head that would normally just hurt for a little while could result in a serious brain injury. This is why you should never refuse medical attention if you suffer an injury. You may not know the full extent of the damage, and, if you wait, you may delay getting necessary treatment. You will also make it harder to succeed in a typical personal injury case, because it may be more difficult to prove your injury was a result of the accident that was someone else’s fault. Continue reading

Any personal injury lawsuit filed in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts often involves significantly more complexity than other types lawsuits if a plaintiff suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI). It doesn’t matter whether the lawsuit is filed under a negligence-based theory or intention torts-based theory, such as assault and battery, because, regardless of causation, proving damages will require extensive medical documentation and expert testimony.

457973__1One of the reasons for this is that, despite all doctors have learned about the human brain and traumatic brain injury in the last decade or so, there is still much doctors and researchers do not understand. However, there is no question that there have been tremendous strides in the fields of neurology and neurosurgery, and this is largely due the large number of serious brain injury cases during recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While war and injuries are clearly nothing new, this war marks the first time in our history that the military had the technology to effectively evacuate many of the casualties and get them in an operating room within a matter of minutes or hours. In past wars, such as Vietnam, the wounded soldiers were not evacuated in time and died from their injures. Today, we have many more survivors, but that often means survivors with a traumatic brain injury. Continue reading

There is no question football is a dangerous game. Every time your child puts on his uniform and steps on the field, there is always a risk that he could be injured. Sometimes, we are talking and sprains and bruises or even broken bones, and other times we are talking about serious head and neck injuries. The fact that tackle football is so dangerous is the reason the school requires parents to sign a waiver stating they understand what could happen and assume the risk of an injury.

1037536_money_in_handAssumption of risk is a common defense to cases where a victim is injured while doing a potentially dangerous activity, and releases are commonly required. Every time you do certain activities, like skiing, sky diving, and going on certain amusement or a water park rides, you have to sign a waiver. When you go skiing, the lift ticket you clip on your zipper contains a lot of fine print that constitutes such a waiver. Continue reading

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