2011 Brain Injury Awareness Day in Washington Highlights Brain Injury Awareness Month
March 16, 2011 is Brain Injury Awareness Day, part of a month long celebration of Brain Injury Awareness. The focus of the event is rehabilitation.
The opening speaker was General Peter W. Chiarelli, Army Vice Chief of Staff and the moderator of the event was Bobby Silverstein of the Disability and Rehabilitation Research Coalition and former Staff Director and Chief Counsel, Senate Subcommittee on Disability Policy, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Guest Speakers included:
- Col. Jamie B. Grimes (Director, Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center)
- Kathy Helmick (Deputy Director, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury)
- Patty Horan (Wife of Wounded Warrior, Army Capt. Patrick Horan)
- Dr. Lisa McGuire (Research Team Leader, Division of Injury Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Dr. Keith Cicerone (Director of Neuropsychology and Rehabilitation Psychology at the JFK-Johnson Rehabilitation Institute and New Jersey Neuroscience Institute, JFK Medical Center)
- Dr. Anne Forrest (Traumatic Brain Injury Survivor and Advocate, formerly Senior Economist at the Environmental Law Institute)
As experienced Kansas City Brain Injury Lawyers, we feel it is important for these types of events to take place. The field of brain injury diagnosis and treatment is constantly developing and advancing. Brain injury victims in Kansas City have been given a great deal of hope in the past year as several developments have helped establish hope in recovering from traumatic brain injuries.
1.7 million people in the United States suffer head injuries every year.
Every year 1.7 million people sustain a Traumatic Brain injury, many of them right here in Kansas City. Slips and falls as well as serious injury automobile and motorcycle accidents top the list of the top causes of brain and spinal injuries. The field of neuroscience has seen quite a leap in developments recently that have doctors feeling that long term damage can be prevented if not at least controlled to prevent some of the severe illnesses that can come out of a simple concussion.
Brain injuries affect everyone differently. A bump to the head for one person can mean nothing but to another it can lead to a life time of head aches, blurred vision and possible fatal brain diseases like ALS.
If you or someone you love has suffered a serious injury or traumatic brain injury in an accident in Kansas or Missouri, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses, including but not limited to lost wages from work, medical and doctor bills, not to mention legal fees. Don’t try and take on the insurance company alone, you need someone in your corner you can trust. Call experienced Kansas City Personal Injury Attorney James Roswold. With over 15 years of experience in Brain and Spinal Injury Accidents and Traumatic Brain Injury cases, we may be able to assist you and your family through this difficult time.
Contact Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys to set up a free consultation to discuss your personal injury claim. You can get stated today by downloading our FREE book, “10 Essential Steps to Protecting Your Injury Claim“. We want you to know your rights.
Development in New Technology May Help Detect Serious Brain Injury for Kansas City Athletes?
Now that the Super Bowl is over, there is going to be a lot of discussion about how to handle head injuries and concussions among NFL players. During the 2010 season, concussions were up 21% from the year before. The NFL is laying out fines left and right for illegal hits, including head to head hits, but there is only so much they can do without drastically changing the way the game is played.
The future of football helmets could see a chip inside that transmits brain data to the sidelines in an effort to track head injuries.
Doctors are hoping that a new development in technology may be able to at least monitor players during the game. Dr. Hashem Ashrafiuon, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Villanova is leading a team trying to develop a computer chip that may be able to do just that. If successful, the chip, embedded in the players’ helmets, would record brain wave data and transmit it immediately to the side lines where coaches and trainers can analyze it to determine if a player has suffered an football related brain injury.
This technology would not be limited to determining concussions in football players. It would be a break through that would allow doctors to monitor the brain health in victims of traumatic brain injuries, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, mild brain impairments, sleep disorders and serious brain illnesses like Alzheimer’s Disease.
This technology is however, still a few years away. The MindScope System is not expected to be available until 2014.
As Kansas and Missouri Brain Injury Attorneys, we are excited about the advancement in technology that is allowing doctors to treat brain injuries. We also want to remind you that no head injury should go without being checked out. Even minor head injuries can lead to permanent long term brain damage down the road if not diagnosed early enough.
If you or someone you love have suffered a serious or traumatic brain injury in an accident in Kansas or Missouri, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses. If you are facing battle in court you will need someone in your corner you can trust. Call experienced Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyers James Roswold and Heather Lottman. With over 15 years of experience in Brain and Spinal Injuries including sports related injury cases, we may be able to help you and your family through this difficult and often stressful time.
Contact Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys to set up a free consultation to discuss your personal injury claim.
NFL Charities Group Remains Focused on Helping Athletes Who Are Victims of Traumatic Brain Injury
It’s no secret that head injuries have become the most problematic and dangerous injuries facing NFL players from week to week. Thankfully the NFL and its charities are willing to do their part and helping doctors continue the research into prevention of these dangerous injuries. In fact, last month, NFL charities donated $100,000 to the UC San Diego School of Medicine so that it may continue to be a contributing factor research for brain injuries.
Head injuries suffered by NFL athletes were on the rise in 2010.
Dr. Mingxiong Huang at the San Diego School of Med is helping lead that charge by helping develop new technologies such as MEG Radiology Imaging and Diffusion Tensor Imaging. The MEG imaging for example allows neurologists to locate specifically where an athlete has suffered damage in the brain, which until recently was nearly impossible.
By being able to locate what specific part of the brain has been injured, doctors will be able to tailor treatments for the patients.
The good news is that this new technology is not just applicable to athletes who have suffered head injuries. With what originally began as a treatment funded by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Dr. Huang and his team have been able to test military men and women who have suffered Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) as well as the civilian population as well. Right now, its seems the world of neuro-science is changing every day. Recently it was discovered blood tests can help identify brain injury but this break through and being able to pin point the exact location of the injury is hugely important.
With years of experience, our Kansas and Missouri Brain Injury Lawyers know there is a long way to go in the neuro-science field and doctors may never be able to completely understand the nature of brain injuries and disease. But thanks to groups such as NFL charities, that knowledge is expanding every day. That being said, now is the time to continue to push forward. While it may be impossible to completely prevent serious brain and head injuries, it may be possible to contain these injuries and limit the long term affects these serious injuries tend to have.
If you or a loved one has suffered a serious or traumatic brain injury in an accident that happened in Kansas or Missouri, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses. Call experienced Kansas City Personal Injury Attorney James Roswold. With over 15 years of experience in Brain and Spinal Injury cases, we may be able to assist you and your family through this difficult and often stressful time.
Contact Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys to set up a free consultation to discuss your personal injury claim.
Have You Suffered a Head Injury in Kansas or Missouri?; New Online Software Screens for Traumatic Brain Injury
Don’t you wish there was a way to diagnose if you have a head injury without the initial trip to the doctor? If you’re suffering from a possible head injury you may be in luck. Thanks to a research team at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, a new web based screening tool has been developed and is now available to the general public.
Dr. Wayne Gordon began developing this tool over 20 years ago. While working with school children, he realized a great number of them were suffering from TBI and either weren’t being treated or hadn’t even been diagnosed to begin with. Many of the children had suffered the head injuries because of abuse or assault. As a result, the injuries weren’t being reported. So, Dr. Gordon decided he wanted to develop an anonymous test to help victims.
The Brain Injury Screening Questionnaire (BISQ) is a web based tool that allows possible victims to anonymously answer questions about the severity of their head injury to determine if they need further ongoing treatment. Questions range from how the injury happened, the mental state of the victim (are they dazed, confused, disoriented, etc.), sleep patterns, memory selection, ability to carry out daily routines and organization. At the end of the test, the victim is given a score and if they are considered at risk, they are advised to see a doctor or neurologist for further treatment.
The software is very inexpensive, only $15 for the software and can be purchased through the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
As experienced Kansas and Missouri Brain Injury Lawyers, we know that most traumatic brain injuries often are under-diagnosed and if left untreated can have long term cognitive effects that can affect behavioral patterns and cause long term permanent brain damage, sometimes leading to severe brain illnesses as ALS. No head injury should go untreated. If you have suffered any kind of head injury, no matter how slight, please see a doctor or neurosurgeon immediately. The worst thing you can do is wait.
If you or someone you love has suffered a traumatic brain injury in Kansas or Missouri, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses, including but not limited to medical bills, lost wages and even legal fees. Facing an uphill battle against your insurance company? Call experienced Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyers James Roswold and Heather Lottman. With over 15 years of experience in Brain and Spinal injuries including cases of Traumatic Brain Injury, we may be able to help you and your family through this difficult and often stressful time.
Contact Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys to set up a free consultation to discuss your personal injury claim.
Kansas City Doctor Working with Younger Athletes to Prevent Fatal Traumatic Brain Injury
Football players know there is a risk of injury when they step on the field. But how many of them know the real dangers they face when they strap on that helmet? Of course the common mindset is that players wear a helmet to protect their head from injuries. Right. Helmets do protect to a certain degree but injuries, including football related traumatic brain injuries continue to happen at an alarming rate. To make matters worse, most players don’t take nearly enough time off after the initial injury to properly and fully recover.
One of the deadliest threats to football players is something known as “second impact syndrome”. This can happen when a player suffers a second head injury before the symptoms and side affects of a previous injury have gone away. Teenagers are most vulnerable to these secondary injuries because their brains are not fully developed. One man who is working to help young athletes through these injuries is Joseph Waeckerle, an expert in sports related concussions, who spent twenty years as a team doctor with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Dr. Joseph Waeckerle photo by Sabrina Staires
Dr. Waeckerle now works the sidelines for the Rockhurst High School football team. He was with the Chiefs a few years back when quarterback Trent Green suffered a season ending head injury and tries to use what he learned from his days in the NFL to help the younger kids now. He knows full well how important it is to build a strong relationship with the players and establish a trust. It may be the only way to get players to be honest about the the severity of their injury.
“It may happen at Rockhurst no matter what I do,” he says. “That’s just a fact of life. But I tell you what, we’re going to bust our tail — and we have busted our tail — to make sure we can do everything we can do to prevent any bad outcomes. But there are always going to be bad outcomes because we’re all human beings. We just want to minimize them.”
Most players won’t be upfront about dizziness or headaches if they know there is a possibility they could lose playing time or be forced to quit the game altogether. After years in the NFL, helping professional athletes and now a volunteer for the Rockhurst football team, Dr. Waeckerle just wants to share his knowledge. In fact, Waeckerley and a prominent local neurosurgeon are in the early states of opening a regional concussion center right here in Kansas City. It would be similar to facilities at the University of Washington and the University of Pittsburgh where patients have access to professionals in the fields of neuroradiology, neuropsychology, ophthalmology, etc.
As Kansas City Brain Injury Lawyers, we encourage parents of student athletes in Kansas and Missouri to pay close attention to their child’s behavior after their games. Even the slightest bumps and knocks can cause even minor brain shifts that can lead to permanent brain damage even fatal brain illnesses and disease that won’t be detectable right away, more likely not for months even years down the road. We’d like to thank Dr. Waeckerle for his contribution to protecting the young athletes in Kansas City and hope his dedication inspires future generations to do what is right when faced with head injuries.
If you or a loved one has suffered a serious or traumatic brain injury as the direct result of an accident that happened in Kansas or Missouri, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses. If this sounds familiar, you need someone in your corner you can trust. Don’t delay, call experienced Kansas City Personal Injury Attorney James Roswold. With over 15 years of experience in Brain and Spinal Injuries and Child Injury cases, we may be able to assist you and your family through this difficult and often stressful time.
Contact Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys today to set up a free consultation to discuss your personal injury claim.
Studies Show Football Players May Be Prone to Brain Damage Even Without Suffering a Concussion
Football can be a dangerous sport as any high contact sport can be. On any given play, a player can blow a knee or break a bone or dislocate a shoulder. Head injuries remain the most dangerous injuries however and new studies are showing that players may be able to sustain long term brain damage even if they have never suffered a severe head injury or concussion.
What is known about the causes of brain damage in relation to head trauma in a contact sport like football is relatively new and seems to be changing every day. A lot of this research is being done at Boston University, the University of North Carolina, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of South Florida. At USF this fall, there was a interactive study conducted with seven local high school football players, which used special sensors within the player’s helmets to determine the severity of hits to the player’s head and the effects they are having on the brain.
Blows to the Head May Contribute to ALS and Other Brain Disease
It’s not just the big hits that are being studied, but the small sub-concussive hits as well. Research is beginning to reveal that the brain may be affected negatively on every single little hit that is sustained.
While there is obviously a major concern on how these hits are affecting younger players because the brain is still in development, the fear is that the true damage may not even be able to be detectable for years down the road. Former NFL Hall of Famer Mike Webster, who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers before finishing his career right here in Kansas City with the Chiefs, died ten years ago from a heart attack. His autopsy showed early onset of dementia in his brain, something that is becoming increasing common among football players after years of taking blow after blow to the head.
For years the prevailing thought was that the human head was able to withstand so many hits before there became a fear of damage to the brain, but more and more it seems that every little hit, even small ones are leading to long lasting and permanent brain damage. For more information on the subject, check out our informative library article, “Tips for Kansas City Parents: Diagnosing Early Warning Signs of Concussion in Your Child“.
The real problem may be the game of football itself and its place in society. Football has always been popular and one of the reasons is the violence. The NFL sells DVDs of the biggest bone crushing hits. Players often refer to themselves as Gladiators. Players say they get into the game knowing the damage that can come from it, but are they really thinking about the long term brain damage, dementia and possible brain diseases that often come with participation? Can anything be done about it?
Our experienced Kansas and Missouri Brain Injury Lawyers know full well the dangers that a contact sport like football represents. If you have a child who has suffered a head injury, please, have it checked out by a doctor or neurologist. Even the slightest head injury can lead to long term brain damage. We encourage you to take every head injury very seriously. There’s no such thing as a typical head injury. Every brain reacts differently to the slightest bumps and dings.
If you or a loved one has suffered a serious head injury or TBI in an accident in Kansas or Missouri, you may be able to compensation for your losses. Call experienced Kansas City Personal Injury Attorneys James Roswold and Heather Lottman. With over 15 years of experience in Brain and Spinal Injury including Traumatic Brain Injury and sports related injuries, we may be able to help you and your family through this difficult and stressful time.
Contact Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys to set up your free consultation to discuss your case.
Screenwriter Suffers Serious Brain Injury in Subway Fall Accident in New York
An Academy Award nominated screenwriter suffered a severe head trauma when he was struck by a subway car in New York, NY last week. Will Rokas, who wrote the film “Monster’s Ball” was at the 14th Street station at Seventh Avenue in NY waiting for the No. 2 train when he leaned over the track to look down the tunnel. The train was approaching faster than Rokas realized and it clipped the screenwriter in the head.
The impact tossed Rokas across the platform. Reports indicate the victim attempted to get up, but several people managed to keep him still until paramedics could get to the scene. He was listed in critical condition wit a severe head injury.
As experienced Kansas and Missouri Brain Injury Lawyers we are dedicated to protecting you in the event of an accident. Head injuries can have serious and long lasting effects that can cause damage for days to even months after the initial injury. Treatment for a head injury should begin immediately. The other passengers were right to stabilize the victim even though he was trying to get up. Proper treatment following a serious head injury can help to prevent long term brain damage that can lead to brain disease years down the road.
If you or someone you love have suffered a serious head injury as the result of an accident in Kansas or Missouri, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses including medical bills, lost wages and even legal fees. Don’t delay, call experienced Kansas City Personal Injury Attorneys James Roswold and Heather Lottman. With over 15 years of experience with Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries including traumatic brain injuries, we may be able to assist your family through this difficult time.
Contact Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys to schedule a free consultation to discuss your personal injury case.
Drill Bit Accident at Rhode Island Hospital Raises Questions about Accuracy of Past Brain Surgeries
Surviving a severe head injury can be a difficult time for anyone. However what is more concerning is follow up treatments and possible surgeries and procedures that may be necessary following the injury to prevent further brain damage. As stressful as this can be for TBI patients, it can be even scarier when you’re not sure if you can trust your neurosurgeon.
Take the case of a recent incident at Rhode Island Hospital. An investigation by the State Health Department is underway after a neurosurgeon accidentally left a 1/4″ drill bit in a patients skull during a surgical procedure on August 4, 2010. The hospital removed the drill bit piece two days later and has since suspended the surgeon and surgical staff involved in the incident.
In 2007, the same hospital was investigated for allegations that neurosurgeons operated on the wrong part of the brain in three different brain injury surgery cases. The hospital was fined over $50,000 for the incidents at the time.
The Kansas and Missouri Brain Injury Attorneys of Roswold Law Group know there are more doctors and surgeons working in the field of brain injury that are dedicated and take pride in their work. There are far more that know what they’re doing but as a traumatic brain injury victim, you should be as informed as you can. The more you know about the dangers and risks of your surgeries as well as possible side affects.
If you or someone you love has suffered a serious injury as the direct result of a mistake made during a medical procedure or surgery and you feel the doctor is at fault for your condition, you may have rights the insurance companies aren’t telling you about. You need someone in your corner you can trust to give it to you straight. Contact the of Roswold Law Group. With over 15 years of experience in Brain Injury Accidents and experienced Kansas City Personal Injury LawyersMedical Malpractice cases, we may be able to assist you and your family through this difficult time. Call today to setup your free consultation.
Brain Injury Conference in St. Charles, MO. a Way to Gather Knowledge on Latest TBI Treatments
The Brain Injury of Missouri Annual Statewide Conference is taking place this week in St. Charles, Missouri. The sixth annual event is dedicated to bringing together the top professionals in the field of neuroscience in order to share information on the newest technologies and latest treatment plans. This year’s conference, “Brain Injury: Fact, Fallacies and New Frontiers” is focusing on treatment for severe head and brain injuries, especially concussions.
The conference began on October 20th and will be going on through the 23rd. The four day event will be filled with national and local guest speakers, including many from the University of Missouri. Anyone involved in a field dealing with traumatic brain injury are encouraged to attend.
Friday’s panels include Sports Concussions, Integrating Soldiers into the Community following Brain Injury and Concussion Assessment and Management. For more information, check out the website for the Brain Injury Association of Missouri.
As a special treat, on Saturday October 23, there will be a special art show, displaying artwork done by brain injury victims. The show is free of charge.
The Kansas City Brain Injury Lawyers of Roswold Law Group are encouraged to know that this conference and many like it go on so often, not only in Kansas and Missouri, but the rest of the country as well. It’s so very important for the best and brightest in this important field of medicine to get together and share ideas like this. The world of brain injury diagnosis and treatments is constantly changing and we’re glad there are conferences like this that allow doctors and health care workers to get together and pick each other’s brains.
If you or someone you love has suffered a serious injury or traumatic brain injury in an accident in Kansas or Missouri, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses, including but not limited to lost wages from work, medical and doctor bills, not to mention legal fees. Don’t try and take on the insurance company alone, you need someone in your corner you can trust. Contact the experienced Kansas City Personal Injury Attorneys of Roswold Law Group. With over 15 years of experience in Brain and Spinal Injury Accidents and Traumatic Brain Injury cases, we may be able to assist you and your family through this difficult time. Call our office today to set up your free consultation.