He’s had over 10 concussions in his years of racing.

Today he gets uneasy hearing all the stories today about NFL players and other athletes who are having serious neurological problems after they retire.  The large, growing amount of research indicates these issues may have been caused by repetitive brain injuries the athletes sustained during their playing days.

Waltrip is hoping perhaps he could be a case study.

“I whacked my head — a lot,” Waltrip said. “If you think about this, I showed up in ’85, when it was relatively ‘safe.’ We thought we had it figured out. I raced all the way through 2001 when people were getting killed. And all through that time, I was hitting my head and knocking myself out and getting concussions and going to the hospital. And I don’t know what that means to me in 10 years. But I know it’s a concern.”

After four deaths in 2001, NASCAR got serious about the safety of its drivers.Especially after the drivers – including Dale Earnhardt – were all killed from similar head injuries.

NASCAR redesigned their cars to reduce the risk of injury and all drivers now are required to wear a head and neck restraint.  Impact-absorbing SAFER barriers were also installed on the racetrack walls.
All the safety measures seem to be working.  There have been no deaths in NASCAR’s top three national series races since 2001.  They have however identifies 29 concussions since 2004 and only 11 of those have happened in the past 5 years.

If you or someone close to you has suffered a concussion or another form of traumatic brain injury in Kansas or Missouri, your family may be entitled to compensation for your losses. Oftentimes, it can seem like an uphill battle against the insurance company. You need someone in your corner you can trust. Contact the experienced Kansas and Missouri Personal Injury Lawyers at Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys. With over 15 years of experience dealing with Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries, we may be able to assist you and your family through this difficult time. Call our office today to set up your free consultation or download our free resource guide 10 Essential Steps You Must Take to Protect Your Injury Claim.

Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles discovered the link while doing research on rats after observing the association between TBI and PTSD in military veterans.

For the study, the rats were trained with fear conditioning two days after they experienced a  brain trauma, ensuring that the brain injury and fear occurred on separate days.
Scientists say they found that the rats with the earlier TBI acquired more fear than control rats (without TBI). The brain injury almost rendered them more susceptible to acquiring an inappropriately strong fear. Like the injury primed the brain for learning to be afraid.

To study these findings further, researchers then analyzed the rats’ amygdala, which is the brain’s important center for fear learning.

There they found that there are significantly more receptors for excitatory neurotransmitters that promote learning. Allowing the study to suggest that brain injury leaves the amygdala in a more excitable state that readies it for acquiring potent fear.

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.

One surviving family of a former NFL player thinks so.

Wally Hilgenberg played for the National Football League for 16 years. During that time, he suffered multiple concussions.  He died in 2008, and doctors reportedly found that the cause of death was Chronic Traumatic Encephalomyopathy (CTE). CTE is a deadly form of dementia and is caused by repetitive concussions to the brain.  Symptoms include memory loss and impulse control problems.

His surviving family is suing the NFL because of these findings.  They believe the League knew of the serious dangers of concussions, but ignored the research and failed to protect the health and future well-being of the players.

Helmets are not the solution either.  Football and hockey helmets do not protect the athletes from concussions and the lasting impact that repeated injury to the brain can have on a person’s health. Many ex-players are responding to that sad reality with personal injury lawsuits against their league.

Have you or someone you love suffered a serious head injury in an accident in Kansas or Missouri?  Contact experienced Kansas City Personal Injury Attorney James Roswold.  With over 15 years of experience in Traumatic Brain Injury cases, we can help you.  Call today and set up your free consultation at (888) 348-2616.

The state has a law that requires that any athlete exhibiting any established signs of a head injury is to be removed from a game and not allowed back until a doctor approves it.

Kansas is one of 32 states that have laws to protect athletes who suffer from concussions.

A concussion occurs when the brain is violently jarred back and forth or rotated inside the skull as a result or a hit to the head or body.  This can shock, or even kill, brain cells.

In order to get the law on the books, Kansas formed the Kansas Sports Concussion Partnership last July. Designed to educate the coaches, athletes and parents about concussions, the partnership is made up of a group of physicians and athletic trainers.

Every year, Emergency Departments across the United States treat an estimated 173,285 young athletes with sports and recreation related traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We put our children at risk, and we don’t recognize the risk,” said Wichita neurologist Bart Grelinger, who is part of the Partnership team. “And once they suffer an injury, if we don’t let the brain heal before we put them back in harm’s way, the potential for life-long injury and limitation is measurable.”

If you or a loved one have suffered a concussion or traumatic brain injury, Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys may be able to help. Call 888-348-2616 for your free consultation. For more information about your personal injury claim, download your free copy of our resource guide, 10 Essential Steps You Must Take To Protect Your Injury Claim.

Virginia Tech was the first football team to use the Head Impact Telemetry System, or HITS, in 2003, now marketed by Riddell Sports Inc. HITS is a web of sensors built into the padding of the football helmet which records every head impact. Any shock above a pre-set threshold tripped the team doctor’s beeper, alerting him to check the player for signs of concussion.

Though it can’t diagnose a brain injury, about 10 college and high school football programs currently rely on HITS, both as a concussion early-warning system, and as a way of tracking head hits during a football season. The Army even began using a version of the helmet-sensor system in Afghanistan in 2008, to detect battlefield concussions.

Unfortunately, the National Football League isn’t convinced that it works.  They have yet to use any type of helmet technology to detect concussions for their players. For now, they continue to depend on team doctors and trainers to conduct an interview-based sideline test to determine if a player has suffered a concussion and can stay in the game.

The NFL wants to see results from ongoing tests comparing the accuracy of the various options before deciding which helmet-mounted system to use.

Concussion-detection methods, current and future

Sideline Concussion Assessment Tool, version 2 (SCAT2) – An interview-based test used by the NFL  and others. Quizzes athletes about symptoms, memory, concentration, as well as checking balance and eye movements. The military version is called Military Acute Concussion Evaluation, or MACE.

Head Impact Telemetry System (HITS) – Uses helmet-mounted sensors and computer software to measure potentially harmful, concussion-causing head acceleration after an impact. Developed by Simbex, a New Hampshire company, and marketed by Elyria, Ohio, helmet maker Riddell Sports, Inc. Several colleges and high schools use HITS.

King-Devick Test – A visual test for dyslexia that is being evaluated as a concussion indicator. Requires athletes to scan and recite a series of numbers arranged on a page or computer monitor. Rapid, precise eye movements are necessary, which a concussion may impede.

Blood tests – Under development by the Cleveland Clinic and Banyan Biomarkers, a company spun off from University of Florida research. They hope to detect brain proteins that leak into the bloodstream when a head injury disrupts the brain’s protective barrier. Food and Drug Administration approval will be required.

Ahead System – A portable, hand-held brain wave detector and software under development by Maryland-based neuro-technology company BrainScope, Inc. Intended to quickly identify concussions by sensing whether the electrical activity in a patient’s brain is normal or abnormal. Being tested in various hospital emergency departments in hopes of winning FDA approval.

Concussions are very difficult to diagnose.  Unlike traumatic brain injuries, where there is visible physical damage to the brain, the signs and symptoms to a concussion are subtle. Concussions are an uneven response to sudden acceleration, when some parts of the brain move faster than others, distorting the organ’s shape and disrupting its functioning.

If you have more questions or concerns regarding a concussion or traumatic brain injury that either you or a loved have experienced after an accident or injury, Missouri Personal Injury Attorney James Roswold may be able to help. Our experienced Kansas City Brain Injury Attorneys want to help your family get the compensation you deserve to help with your medical bills, therapy and other expenses.

To learn more, contact Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys toll free at 1-888-348-2616 for a FREE CONSULTATION. You can also download our FREE resource guide, “10 Essential Steps You Must Take To Protect Your Kansas City Injury Claim.”

However, despite wearing a helmet, Olympic Skier Sarah Burke, 29, died January 19 after a crash while training for the 2012 Winter Olympics.

Her helmet did not protect her from the freak landing of this halfpipe accident.   The fall caused “irreversible damage to her brain due to lack of oxygen and blood after cardiac arrest,” putting her in a coma for nine days before she died.

The sport’s leaders say the sport is safe.  Skiers wear mandatory helmets and air bags are used on the sides of pipes during practice. Everything was done that day to make Burke’s practice safe of injuries.

Burke’s death was a rare occurrence.  It certainly draws attention to what every person needs to know when participating in winter sports.  Whether for work or play, wear a helmet and do not perform risky moves.  A bump to the head can result in a traumatic brain injury (TBI), which may not be easy to detect immediately. The pain is not immediate and is not recognizable as many injuries; TBIs can take days, even weeks to detect. If you are a sports enthusiasts heading to the slopes, remember to always include a helmet as part of your ski wear.

Do you or a loved one suffer a serious injury in an accident in Kansas or Missouri?  Contact experienced Kansas City Personal Injury Attorneys James Roswold and Heather Lottman.  With over 15 years of experience in Kansas and Missouri Injury Accidents, Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys may be able to help you determine the best way to proceed with your personal injury claim.  Call our firm today to schedule an appointment to discuss the details of your case.

According to a new study in the journal Pediatrics, girls are more likely than boys to have headaches after suffering a brain injury.

And surprisingly, the children who suffered mild injuries were more likely to report headaches than those who suffered more severe injuries, according to the study.

Children aged 5-17  were examined.  The prevalence of headaches was the focus. 43 percent of children reported headaches, compared with 37 percent of children with moderate to severe injuries, and 26 percent for the control group three months after a mild brain injury,

Girls reported the most headaches at Fifty-nine percent of those children. Additionally, the risk of headaches increased with age in girls, but not with boys.

Worse off are girls who suffer from migraines before a concussion.  But anyone who is susceptible to migraines can get concussions from mild traumas which doesn’t affect those who are not prone to migraines, and the concussions they suffer are often more severe.

Girls are four to six times more likely to suffer from migraines than boys. This factor alone could explain why girls are more likely to have headaches after a mild brain injury or concussion.

If your child has suffered a concussion or another form of traumatic brain injury as the direct result of an accident in Kansas or Missouri, your family may be entitled to compensation for your losses. Contact the experienced Kansas and Missouri Personal Injury Lawyers at Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys. With over 15 years of experience dealing with Child Injury Accidents, as well as Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries, we may be able to assist you and your family through this difficult time. Call our office today to set up your free consultation or download our free resource guide 10 Essential Steps You Must Take to Protect Your Injury Claim.

Protect your child. Know the signs of a concussion to prevent long term brain damage.

Sometimes its easy to get so caught up in a moment that you can very easily forget where you are and what the real life rules are. Welcome to the life of a teenager, where kids are living out their last care free days of irresponsibility.

A 14 year-old girl was struck by a car while crossing a busy street as she was trying to collect clues for a scavenger hunt. The teen victim suffered a very serious head injury and was hospitalized. Also, injured in the accident was a 15 year-old boy, who was also hospitalized with serious injuries to the body. The pedestrian head injury accident happened in North Carolina.

Our experienced Brain Injury Lawyers want your child to be safe in all of their high school activities. While you may feel redundant, constantly repeating yourself to them, it is always best to remind them of the rules because chances are they aren’t thinking that far ahead. When kids aren’t thinking, this is where they run into dangerous situations and become a victim of an accident. It is these careless accidents which tend to produce serious injuries including head and spinal injuries.

All head injuries should be examined by a medical professional immediately. Even the slightest head bump, if gone untreated, can lead to life long lingering complications that can open the door for a number of very serious brain illnesses.

If you or a loved one has suffered a brain or traumatic head injury you may be entitled to compensations for your losses. Contact Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys to set up a free consultation to discuss your injury claim. We want you to know your rights as a victim.

He suffered at least five concussions during his football career: two during college at the University of Minnesota, two with the Indianapolis Colts and one with the Cincinnati Bengals. The last one, during training camp in 2009, ended his NFL career.

Those concussions have caused him to now suffer from frightening gaps in his memory.

He attends meetings and never recalls receiving (and responding to) the cancellation notice eight hours before. He also doesn’t remember standing up in a close friend’s wedding even after looking at the photos.

He’s also worried about how the concussions will affect him as he gets older.  Will he experience early-onset dementia?  Or will he suffer more issues with amnesia, headaches or behavioral changes?

Research shows that after you’ve had three concussions,  your chances of more concussions goes up exponentially. He thinks that he may have retired sooner if he knew that then.

“A concussion doesn’t heal like a shoulder or knee injury.  This is your personality. It’s your character. It’s your soul,” Utecht said. It changes you forever.

If  your or a loved one has suffered a concussion in Kansas or Missouri, your family may be entitled to compensation for your losses. Contact the experienced Kansas and Missouri Personal Injury Lawyers at Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys. Call our office today to set up your free consultation or download our free resource guide 10 Essential Steps You Must Take to Protect Your Injury Claim.

You may have lifelong disabilities such as being immobile, unable to speak and have a different personality all together.

Experts say it doesn’t matter what the cause of the injury was.  It all depends on which part of the brain was injured and the severity of the damage. Only about one-third of brain injury patients who undergo rehabilitation manage to return to work.

Neuropsychologist Robyn Tate, of the University of Sydney’s rehabilitation studies unit, said a patient who emerges from a coma with a brain injury usually goes through a period of confusion known as post traumatic amnesia (PTA). Tate says the person is usually disorientated. They don’t know what time it is, where they are and may not know who they are or their age.

Doctors estimate the severity of the brain injury by measuring the time from when the injury occurred to the end of the PTA period.

If you or a loved one has suffered from a brain injury, the Kansas City Accident Injury Attorney’s experience brain injury and spinal injury lawyers may be able to help.  Fill out the “Just Ask” form online for more information or call 816-471-5111 for a free consultation.
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