At age 14, Sarah Rainey sustained a concussion while playing soccer. She lost consciousness for a short period of time, but when she regained consciousness, she took a sip of water and got back in the game. Rainey doesn’t remember the rest or the game, including the two overtimes. Over a month after that game, she hasn’t been able to play again and is struggling in school. She constantly feels a pressure in her head, has very frequent headaches and it takes her three times longer to do pretty much anything. Sarah even has to use a calculator for simple mathematical equations.
She expected to be sidelined for a little while, but didn’t expect the concussion to last for so long. Rainey feels that the C.D.C.’s slogan, “It’s better to miss one game than a whole season.”, softens the seriousness of concussions.
A former high school student, Michele Pelton, sustained a concussion her senior year while playing soccer and she hasn’t been the same since. Instead of doing the normal senior activities, Pelton was usually at home because of the issues she was having due to the concussion she sustained. Depression, headaches, slow processing speed, memory problems, and being unable to concentrate plague her every day.
Sarah Rainey and Michele Pelton told their stories to a house panel in the hopes of preventing others from having to suffer every day as they do. The main topics of the committee were; concentrating on educating teachers about recognizing students suffering from concussions and making sure that they are understand those students needs, and discussing studies that show that females seem to be more likely to be adversely affected by concussions than males.
There are talks of putting money into each state so that teachers, coaches, parents of athletes, and student athletes will know how to recognize and treat concussions.
Concussion symptoms often include the following; headaches, listlessness, confusion, inattentiveness, lack of response when addressed, depression, memory issues, nausea, pressure in the head, sensitivity to light and noise, vomiting, et cetera.
If you believe that you or a loved one has suffered a concussion, seek immediate professional medical attention. Then spend the next several days getting mental and physical rest. No television, school, homework, music or bright lights. Stay in a dimly lit and quite room. The Kansas City brain and spinal cord injury attorneys may be able to help. Call 816-471-5111 for a free consultation or go online and “Just Ask”. You can also add the Kansas City Accident Attorneys on facebook or twitter.
If you are traveling to Colorado from Kansas City or Missouri to go skiing in the Rocky Mountains over winter or spring break, you might want to consider buying a helmet.
Everyone in your family should wear one.
It may not be the “cool” thing to do, but it could be the key to preventing a head injury on the slopes.
Nearly 20% of common injuries are head related injuries. And the leading cause of death on the slopes is traumatic brain injury, according to an Idaho Ski Patrol.
To help prevent injuries or death, wear a helmet.
The helmet needs to be specific to your sport. If you’re skiing, get a ski helmet. If you’re snowboarding, you need a helmet made for snowboarding. And they make snowmobiling helmets too.
Prevent a brain trauma from happening while you're skiing - wear a helmet.
You can’t wear a skiing helmet while you snowmobile or a snowboarding helmet for skiing.
Most importantly, the helmet should fit properly. It should be nice and snug. Buying a helmet for your child in hopes that it will last two years will not work. And lead by example. Parents should also be wearing a helmet to protect their heads too.
If you or a loved one has suffered a sports related head trauma or eye injury, the attorneys at Kansas City Personal Injury Attorneys may be able to help. If you need more information you can go to the
practice area, call 816-471-5111, or the “Just Ask” section of the website.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when sudden trauma causes damage to the brain. The symptoms of TBI can be mild, moderate or severe depending on the extent of the damage. But, even symptoms of mild TBI can interfere with daily life and a victim’s ability to earn a living.
Researchers in China have determined that adding probiotics to a patient’s feeding tube may improve outcomes of their traumatic brain injury.
The leader of the study, Professor Jing-Ci Zhu, is from the Third Military Medical University School of Nursing. He and colleagues at the North Sichuan Medical College and Hospital in China said traumatic brain injury is associated with a profound suppression of a patient’s ability to fight infection.
The small scale trial had 52 patients who had suffered traumatic brain injury. They were being treated in the intensive care unit and those that received probiotics as part of their treatment had a reduced number of infections and spent less time in intensive care than those who did not receive the probiotics.
Probiotics are live microorganisms thought to be beneficial to the host organism and are found in yogurt and supplements.
The symptoms of traumatic brain injury may be mild, moderate or severe. They include the following:
Headache
Confusion
Dizziness
Lethargy
Ringing in the Ears
Blurred Vision
Lightheadedness
Fatigue
Mood Changes
Memory Loss
Trouble with Concentration
Behavioral Changes
Vomiting
Nausea
Seizures
Weakness
Numbness
Dilated Pupils
Loss of Coordination
If someone you love has sustained a TBI in an accident, or from someone else’s negligence, in Kansas or Missouri, you may be eligible to file a personal injury case. You may be able to recover damages for medical costs, therapy, on-going care, pain and suffering, loss of earning potential and loss of quality of life. Contact the Kansas City personal injury attorneys at the Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys to schedule a free consultation and to talk to a lawyer about your individual case.
With some technology, it seems as those head injuries caused by playing football could someday be prevented.
The “magic” is called accelerometers. Some helmets can be fitted with these accelerometers which track the number and severity of the hits to the head during a game. It’s an amazing concept. Every single football helmet should be equipped with this technology.
The University of North Carolina (UNC) has had their players equipped since 2004. The research team has compiled that data from more than 150 players since then.
The accelerometers send the precise location and G-force of helmet hits to a central computer that sits on the 50-yard line at games and inside the trainer’s room at practice. The idea and reasoning behind the research is to teach the players better blocking and tackling techniques to protect their head.
The problem is price. At $1,500 per helmet it’s hard for schools to afford the technology. UNC received grants to help offset the cost. But until the price comes down, don’t expect to see your pee-wee football helmets have the accelerometers in their helmets.
Until that happens, make sure your child athlete is equipped with proper fitting helmets and pads before they take the field. Make sure they know the symptoms of a concussion and how important it is to communicate any injury they may have to their coach immediately. Dizziness and headaches are the first signs of a concussion and early treatment is important.
The lawyers at the Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys have experience in handling Kansas City injury cases involving concussions. If we can be of assistance to you, please contact us to discuss your situation in more detail. Contact our experienced Kansas City Personal Injury Attorneys. With over 15 years of experience in Brain and Spinal Injuries including sports related head injury cases, we may be able to help your family through this difficult time.
A lawsuit against the NCAA alleges players were not protected from head injury.
Football is a man’s sport, right? Football players are modern day gladiators. For a football fan, college football Saturdays and the NFL on Sunday is the perfect way to end the week. Watching grown men pummel each other and cheering when an opposing quarterback goes down for the count. Reports say concussion–
But are we still cheering? Football may never be able so succeed as a NON contact sport but something has to be done in order to protect these players. While it may be fun to watch big hits during games, these athletes are subjecting themselves to the possibility of long term brain damage caused by the series of hits they sustain during games from week to week.
Two former college players are trying to change the way the NCAA protects its players from severe head injuries during games. In a lawsuit filed this fall, two players say the NCAA failed to protect players by allowing coaches to practice tackling techniques that involve “leading with the head”. Head to head contact hits are out lawed in college and NFL but that doesn’t mean they don’t happen. It’s not always on purpose but these players have been taught for years to tackle that way because that’s where power comes from.
At Kansas City Brain Injury Attorneys, we want you to take any head injury seriously. Any slight bump to the head may have an affect. Sometimes insignificant damage now can lead to long term and permanent brain damage down the road, including serious brain illnesses. If you are suffering from a Traumatic Brain Injury, we want you to know your rights as a victim.
On November 7th, 2011 aKansas City resident was involved in a hit-and-run while riding a bicycle near Rockhill Road and Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard. Micah Jacobsen was crossing at a red light on his bicycle when he was hit while about half way across the street.
“The light was red. I got about halfway across the median, the intersection,” Jacosen said, “I guess it turned green because she went.”
Jacobsen rolled over the hood and fell on the ground, injuring his lower back in the process. The woman stopped to see if he was okay, said the light was green, and then sped off before police could even be called. In any accident involving a vehicle on the streets, the people involved should, by law, stay where the accident was, call the police, make a statement, and exchange insurance information.
After police and an ambulance was called, Jacobsen was taken to the hospital and given pain medication. He was released late that night, but was in too much pain over the next several days to do much. The bicycle tire was bent and the frame scratched up.
One out of 41 people killed in car accidents are cyclists. The streets are dangerous for anyone, but cyclists are at more risk because they are harder to see. While riding your bike, follow the following safety tips so that you could be safer on the streets.
Cycling Safety tips:
Wear a well fitting helmet.
More gear that you might consider are gloves, mouth guards, and full body armor.
Wear reflective gear, such as a vest or safety triangle, night and day. It makes you much more visible, even during the day. When you hear a motorist coming, straighten up and sit taller so that your reflective gear is more noticeable.
Put rear and front flashing lights and reflectors on your bike. They will make you more noticeable to drivers.
Use a bike flag. They make you more visible.
Put a mirror on your bike. If you see a car coming up behind you and feel like they don’t see you, get off your bike and up onto the sidewalk.
Use a horn.
When possible, choose to ride on wide streets so that a car and bike can easily move side by side without touching
When possible, choose to rid on slow streets. The slower a car is going, the more time a driver has to spot you.
Use back streets on weekends. The risk of being hit by a car while riding on a Friday or Saturday night is much greater than other nights because there tend to be more drunk drivers out those nights.
Don’t hug the curb. Give yourself a little room to get over if someone doesn’t seem to see you and give you a wide enough birth.
Don’t listen to music or talk on the phone while you’re riding. You won’t be able to hear cars coming and it can make you less attentive to what is going on around you.
Ride as if you are invisible. Assuming that cars can’t see you and acting accordingly can prevent an accident. Stay as much out of the way as possible and know what the cars are doing. If you aren’t sure, stop and get up onto the curb until you are sure it is safe again.
Always signal a turn, but try to turn at a place where there aren’t cars behind you so that, if they don’t see you, they can’t hit you.
Another option in safety gear that has recently come to light is a compression collar, which protects your brain from a concussion. You can also use bent headphones to achieve the same effect.
Helmets have been a very integral part of protective gear when it comes to hockey, football, and bike riding for a long time and for good reason. However, researchers have found that all the time and energy spent specifically on trying to make helmets that better protect athletes from concussions may have been a waste. The helmet is very important because it protects the skull from fracture, but it doesn’t stop the brain from being bumped around inside the skull during impact. A large cause of concussions is the brain being bumped around against the skull.
More efficient and very simple safety gear may be the solution that has been over-looked all this time: A compressive collar. A collar worn during practice and games that only needs to fit as snuggly as a tight shirt collar compresses the “internal” jugular vein. The “internal” jugular vein drains blood from the skull and brain. Compressing this vein would fill up the skull with more blood, which would make it so that the brain would not slosh around inside the skull.
This simple, cheap, and easy to market safety gear could make a huge impact on high impact sports such as football and hockey. It would only cost around ten dollars to make. The same effect could even be achieved by putting cotton balls in the protective neck guards worn by hockey players today.
One of the researchers rides his bike to and from work and he wears his own version of the collar every time to protect himself from a concussion incase he is in an accident; bent headphones.
After some more testing and validation, the collar will probably first be introduced to youth hockey leagues first because National Hockey League (NHL) players are known for fighting any changes to their safety gear, such has been the case with helmets and face visors. Many District 1 NCAA football teams are showing a lot of interest in the compression collar though, so it will likely become staple protective gear worn by football players once testing and validation is done with.
Concussions are very serious injuries. Anyone who thinks that they have a concussion should see a healthcare professional right away. If you do have a concussion, treatment will likely include staying in a dimly lit and quiet room for up to three days. This means no television, work or homework, or music; just rest.
Symptoms to look for if you have injured your head are headache, balance problems or dizziness, confusion, nausea and vomiting, double or blurry vision, inattentiveness, loss of consciousness even for the shortest amount of time, memory problems, pressure in the head and sensitivity to light and or noise.
If you or someone you know has had a sports related injury and you have questions about your rights, the Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys might be able to help you. Call 816-471-5111 to speak to someone or go online and “Just Ask“.
Technology is advancing faster than we can keep up with it these days but it hasn’t made football any safer to play. Since we can’t outlaw tackling, the next best thing to do is find the best way to protect all players from Pee Wee Football all the way up to the NFL. This new technology from the University of Stanford is a mouthpiecewith sensors that help measure impact on collisions. The hope is that is data may be able to help coaches and athletes learn what positions and plays have a greater risk of causing a possible severe head injury.
A new mouthpiece developed at Stanford University may help with brain injury prevention.
Right now, this is a developing tech but we are sure to keep an eye on it. We talked previously about new helmets being developed by Riddell (Head Impact Telemetry System) that uses similar sensors to monitor and determine what part of the brain is affected and the MindScope System is being developed by the University of Villanova.
As experienced Brain and Spinal Injury Lawyers, we work tirelessly to protect victims of traumatic brain injuries after accidents. Child athletes are especially vulnerable to long term brain damage after severe head injuries and concussions because their brains are still developing. Make sure your child is properly equipped with proper fitting helmets and pads before they take the field.
Teach your child athlete the importance of communication in the event of an injury and to report dizziness and headaches immediately as they are early signs of concussion and early treatment is important.
If you or someone you love has suffered a serious head or brain injury in an accident in Kansas or Missouri, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses. Don’t take on the insurance companies alone, call our experienced Kansas City Personal Injury Attorneys. With over 15 years of experience in Brain and Spinal Injuries including sports related head injury cases, we may be able to help your family through this difficult time.
Hopefully you’re not one of the nearly two million people every year that suffer some sort of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Unfortunately, each year nearly 50,000 of those victims die because of that head injury. Among the survivors of TBI, another 80,000 are disabled for life.
Traumatic brain injury is a complex injury with a broad spectrum of symptoms and disabilities. Symptoms include:
• Headache
• Balance problems or dizziness
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Confusion
• Double or blurry vision
• Inattentiveness
• Loss of consciousness
• Memory problems
• Pressure in the head
• Sensitivity to light and/or noise
A recent study in the official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Neurosurgery, suggests that low oxygen supply (hypoxia) to vulnerable brain tissue is a major contributor to the risk of major disability or even death after severe traumatic brain injury.
Which means, make sure you or your loved ones get enough (or lots) of oxygen at the hospital when you’re getting treated for your TBI.
The study followed 103 patients with TBI. They monitored how brain hypoxia affected clinical outcomes. Forty-three percent of patients with low oxygen levels had poor outcomes. Those outcomes included death or survival with severe disability or in a vegetative state.
The greater the drop in brain oxygenation, the higher the risk of poor outcomes. The average length of time with brain hypoxia was 8.3 hours for patients with poor outcomes after TBI. For each additional hour with brain hypoxia, the risk of poor outcomes increased by 11 percent.
Patients with only 1.7 hours of brain hypoxia had good outcomes, which the study defines as survival with no or moderate disability.
If someone you love has sustained a TBI in a car crash, workplace accident or while visiting a public facility or store in Kansas or Missouri, you may be eligible to file a personal injury case. You may be able to recover damages for medical costs, therapy, on-going care, pain and suffering, loss of earning potential and loss of quality of life. Contact the Kansas City personal injury attorneys at the Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys to schedule a free consultation and to talk to a lawyer about your individual case.
Bill Masterton died in 1968 of head trauma sustained while playing for the National Hockey League, yet it was another eleven years before the NHL made it mandatory for hockey players to wear helmets. However, it was only mandatory for players who started to play after 1979 and, even then, it wasn’t until 1997 that this rules was enforced and all NHL hockey players were actually wearing helmets.
These days the debate is about visor enforcement. So far, National Hockey League players are not required to wear visors even though studies have shown that wearing a full-visor cuts back on eye injuries and makes concussions less severe. So far, over 60% of NHL players do wear visors for the extra protection, usually because they were required to do so while they played in the juniors and the minors.
However, many of the older players refuse to wear visors at all. The players who are fighting against wearing visors feel that they will not be able to adapt to them and say that visors obstruct their vision among other things. The players who have gone blind in one eye might argue that the loss of vision in an eye hinders their playing more than a visor would.
Another argument against the NHL making it mandatory for players to wear visors is that all players should have the freedom of choice. The opposition says that the safety of National Hockey League players is more important than their freedom of choice and point out that all football players must wear full head and face protection even though the sport is played at lower speeds and lacks the use of sticks and pucks.
If you are hit in the eye with an object, place a cold compress over the eye, but do not apply pressure and then see a doctor. This could save your eye site.
You should seek professional health care right away if you believe that you have a concussion. For several days after the injury, you should rest in a dimly lit and quiet room. Do not work or watch television so that your brain can heal properly.
• Loss of consciousness – for even the smallest amount of time.
• Memory problems
• Pressure in the head
If you or a loved one has suffered from a sports related brain or eye injury, the Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys may be able to help. You can call 816-471-5111, read information on the Brain or Spinal Cord Injury practice area, or ask a question on the “Just Ask” section of the website.
Also, follow Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys on facebook and twitter.
James M. Roswold is licensed to practice law in the state of Missouri only. Heather A. Lottmann and Victor B. Finkelstein are licensed to practice law in the state of Missouri and the state of Kansas.
ad injuries caused by playing football could someday be prevented.
