Brain Injury Lawyer

Chris Henry, the former Cincinnati Bengals receiver, was recently identified as the first National Football League player to have died with trauma-induced brain damage while still being an active player in the NFL. Henry died last December during a domestic dispute in which he fell from the back of a pickup truck driven by his fiancée.

This year, 1.4 million people will sustain a traumatic brain injury. This number exceeds the number of breast cancer, HIV, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injuries combined. Additionally, in recent years, traumatic brain injuries have emerged as the "signature injury" of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan with as many as 20% of soldiers sustaining brain injuries. Brain injuries remain a leading cause of death and disability in both children and adults.

Last week, HBO presented a 30-minute special on concussions featuring Chris Nowinski's concussion research program. The program, part of HBO's ongoing series Real Sports, details controversial aspects of professional sports few of us every get to learn about.

The New York Times reported Sunday that after months of research and many debates, the National Football League has agreed to support research which states that concussions sustained during play have lasting and devastating effects on players. Greg Aiello, league spokesman, agreed that research proves that concussions can lead to long-term problems.

Though I've discussed several times in the past the link between the NFL and traumatic brain injuries, in a recent New York Times article, a deceased professional hockey player has been found to have had brain damage associated with repeated head trauma. This is the first time hockey has been associated with health risks like those associated with boxers and football players.

As I mentioned last week, the National Football League and the Center for Disease Control joined together to create a public service announcement educating players, coaches and parents on how to recognize a concussion, the importance of early detection, and urged players to take time to recover and not return to play too soon.

The National Football League has produced a public service announcement about concussion treatment and management that is scheduled to begin airing on television today. Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner, said that the league would produce the PSA during a Congressional hearing in October on football-related head injuries.

I read an interesting story in the Wall Street Journal today, which raises the question as to whether or not helmets should be banned in the National Football League (NFL). In recent months the NFL has come under scrutiny after research revealed the long-term dangers associated with concussions and other head injuries sustained by players during a game.

Gay Culverhouse, President of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the daughter of their owner, testified before the House Judiciary Committee at its hearing on football brain injuries last Wednesday to, as she put it, "tell the truth about what's going on while I still have the chance."

Experts in the field of neuroscience will discuss the integration of Military, Professional Sports and Youth Sports programs to better prevent, identify and treat brain injuries at a special Host Committee dinner discussion during the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation's Annual Angel Awards banquet, the organization announced today.

I read an interesting article online last week which details the career of Kyle Turley, offensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints, St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs. The article recounts the injuries Turley sustained over his nine years in the National Football League and the devastating long-term effects those injuries have had, and continue to have, on his health. The article serves as an eye-opening inside look into the pressures players face on the field to put the game ahead of their health.

Michigan Democrat John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said he will hold hearings on head injuries among NFL players. This decision came after a report stated that retired players from the NFL had a higher rate of Alzheimer's disease and other memory problems than other Americans. The hearings will investigate the long-term effects head injuries have on players, as well as how to prevent them, and how to compensate players and their families after permanent injuries have been suffered.

After years of denying the long-term effects of concussions sustained by football players, the National Football League has reported on a study it commissioned that found that Alzheimer's disease or similar memory-related diseases appeared to have been diagnosed in the League's former players vastly more often then in the national population.

I recently read an interesting article in "Brain" a Journal of Neurology. The article is entitled "Impaired eye movements in post-concussion syndrome indicate suboptimal brain function beyond the influence of depression, malingering or intellectual ability". The paper was authored by Marcus H. Heitger and his colleagues in Christchurch, New Zealand.

In prior blog entries, I have discussed various literature regarding Green's word memory test. I have also discussed in the past the need for journals to require its authors to report conflicts of interest.

I recently received the February 2009 issue of the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. The opening article is a position paper of the National Academy of Neuropsychology which is entitled "Secretive Recording of Neuropsychological Testing and Interviewing: Official Position of the National Academy of Neuropsychology". The authors of this position paper are Shane S. Bush, Patricia A. Pipental, Ronald M. Ruff, Grant L. Iverson, Jeffrey T. Barth and Donna K. Broshek.

Last Wednesday, I posted the story regarding the new sign of brain damage in Tom McHale, a former NFL lineman who died in May at the age of 45. Mr. McHale died from what is known as C.T.E. which stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Mr. McHale was the sixth NFL veteran between the ages of 36 and 50 who had been evaluated for this condition after death.

An article in yesterday's New York Times reports that doctors at the Boston University School of Medicine have found a 6th former National Football League player with a brain injury most commonly linked to former boxers. Doctors studied the brain of Tom McHale, who played in the NFL from 1987 - 1995, and who recently passed away last May at the age of 45.

I have written several times in the past on the validity of Word Memory Testing in diagnosing and treating traumatic brain injuries. A new study calls into question statements continuously made by Paul Green that the SVT measures on the Word Memory Test requires minimal to no cognitive effort.

In previous blog entries, I have discussed the recent exposé regarding industry's payment of money to scientists to publish "research" that is supportive in industry's defense of defective products. I just finished an outstanding book entitled "Doubt Is Their Product: How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health" by David Michaels.

With the recent and overwhelming reports of the severe brain trauma suffered, and more often ignored, by members of the National Football League, researchers at Boston University's School of Medicine have a new plan to study the long-term effects of concussion trauma on a player's brain. A dozen athletes, including six N.F.L. players and a former United States women's soccer player, have agreed to donate their brains after their deaths to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.

The Department of Defense has awarded $60 million in funding, the largest grant ever for study of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. The grant was given to doctors at the University of California San Diego and several other research hospitals.

Do you or someone you know care for a service member who has a traumatic brain injury from military service in Iraq or Afghanistan? We want to hear your experiences with being a caregiver. Your experiences and knowledge will help create an educational curriculum, which will assist families in providing care for service members who have sustained a traumatic brain injury in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Below is an extraordinarily promising article involving a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease. The drug, Enbrel - commonly used to treat arthritis, in recent tests has shown to reverse the effects of Alzheimer's Disease in just minutes. Enbrel is believed to assist those with Alzheimer's by delivering the same relief the drug offers arthritis patients.

I found a very interesting article in last week's New York Times addressing the recent rise in brain injuries in college football. Three major injuries across the country at various schools within the past month have generated national attention as to whether or not the overwhelming pressure to return to the game too quickly after suffering a brain injury can have lasting, and devastating, effects on a player's health.

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of speaking at the National Academy of Neuropsychology's (NAN) 27th Annual Conference in Scottsdale, AZ. The topic of my presentation was "Neuropsychology in the Courtroom."

Last week in the Trenton Times, I read an interesting article regarding some of our state judges going "Back to school" to learn science in order to assist them in addressing many of the new, difficult and complex scientific issues presently confronting our courts.

Dr. Bennet Omalu, the physician who performed autopsies on the recently deceased NFL players Andrew Watters, Terry Long and Justin Strzelczyk, believes he's the first to pinpoint forensic evidence of a condition he has dubbed football-induced chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a variation of "boxer's dementia." Omalu believe symptoms of CTE include: confusion, mood disorders, slurred speech and memory loss.

I found a remarkable story yesterday about Scotty Raymond, a 14-year old resident of Hillsdale, New Jersey, who suffered a traumatic brain injury roughly three weeks ago after being struck by a car while walking home with a friend one night. Initially, hope was bleak for a full recovery when Scotty was placed on a ventilator to help him breathe and after Scotty's injuries required surgery.

Chris Nowinski, a former defensive tackle for Harvard University football and successful newcomer to World Wrestling Entertainment, is now spending his days attempting to eliminate the "damage" from head injuries in athletics.

As retired players and Union officials met yesterday on Capitol Hill to discuss the medical treatment of retired National Football League players, or rather lack there of, many came seeking more than just answers as to why more then 7,700 retired players have been denied medical treatment. After seeing the lack of support and misuse of more than $80 million, retired NFL players are now seeking answers as to why the union refuses to care for the players as they initially promised.

The National Football League has been the center of controversy lately due to the increased number of brain injuries being suffered by it's players including Mike Webster, Terry Long and Andre Waters. Now there is fourth addition to this list: Justin Strzelczyk.

With increased scrutiny focused on the care and treatment of professional athletes suffering from traumatic brain injuries on the field, more specifically in the National Football League, the Alzheimer's Association of New York recently introduced the "88" plan. The plan's goal is to assist retired members of the NFL who have suffered a TBI in receiving the required medical treatment.

Due to the recent attention focused on the rise of head injuries in professional sports, and the speculation that the suicide of former NFL player Andre Waters was due in part to an untreated traumatic brain injury, the National Football League has increased standards for players both on and off the field.

An article today on the Baltimore Sun's website reports that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been feeling outside pressure related to the league's care and concern of it's players. Outside researchers include concussion experts, who for the most part have criticized the league's negligent attitude and initiative to prevent and treat their players suffering from concussions and related traumatic brain injuries.

Not long ago, it was revealed that Dr. Elliot Pellman, long-time chairman of the NFL's research committee on concussions had misrepresented his credentials and qualifications according to the Baltimore Sun, ESPN and the New York Times. Yesterday, Dr. Pellman, a rheumatologist, resigned as chairman of the committee although surprisingly, he will remain a member of the committee.

The New York Times reported that experts believe the depression and following suicide of former NFL player Andre Waters were caused by brain damage caused by numerous concussions.

The newest issue of Brain Injury Professional is devoted to addressing pediatrics and traumatic brain injury.

The Brain Injury Association of New Jersey was featured in an article entitled Teen Athletes More Susceptible to Concussions in the Herald News.

Following the trend of other professional sports, Major League Baseball is starting to take a closer look at the problems of players suffering from post-concussion syndrome.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. passed legislation in the House of Representatives to advance public awareness and ultimately find a cure for traumatic brain injury. The legislation recognizes the life-altering impact that has affected millions of Americans living with traumatic brain injury and calls for a National Brain Injury Awareness Month.

A recent article in the Bergen Record talked about the ongoing problem of youth suffering sports concussions that often go undiagnosed or untreated.

Bruce Stern recently attended the Association of Trial Lawyers of America's (ATLA) mid-winter national convention in Honolulu, Hawaii. Here he shares some news from the event.

A recent study showed that the elevation of certain proteins in blood or cerebral spinal fluid could indicate traumatic brain injury in infants with vague symptoms that otherwise appear well.

Kerry McCann, a student at Essex County College, was awarded $1000 scholarship by the New Jersey Coalition on Women and Disabilities.

A new study shows that NFL football players recover from concussions faster than high school players.

A recent case in Virginia defined the duty owed by a neuropsychologist or other defense physician when performing a defense medical examination.

The November issue of Brain Injury had an interesting article which looked at public attitudes toward survivors of brain injury.

The November 2005 issue of Brain Injury, the Official Research Journal of the International Brain Injury Association, contains numerous articles which would be of great interest to medical providers, survivors and their families, as well as to neurolaw attorneys.

Dennis Benigno has just been named as the executive director of the New Jersey Commission on Traumatic Brain Injury Research. The commission, which is under the state Department of Health and Senior Services, was created in January 2004 and is...

I read with interest the recent story regarding New Jersey Governor Codey's Task Force on Mental Health's recent meeting at the Bergen County Community College. First, I commend Governor Codey on taking action on this important topic. On the other...

I recently read an interesting article entitled Predictors of Neuropsychological Test Performance After Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury. The authors were Jacobus Donders and Kelly Nesbit-Greene. The article investigated the influence of neurological and demographic variables on neuropsychological test performance, examining...

Following up on earlier posts (here, here, here, here, here, here, and finally here) regarding seemingly minor injuries (a bump to the head or a fender bender) can actually be major events which sometimes may cause irreversible damage to the...

In a recent report, investigators have determined that people suffering from traumatic brain injuries shouldn't receive steroids to reduce inflammation. The investigators came to this conclusion afetr reviewing previous studies and comparing death rates among patients who received steroids to...

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has an interesting story about professional football players and concussions. The article discusses how mild traumatic brain injuries from the game impacted the life of former Steelers fullback Merrill Hoge. Mr. Hoge discusses coping strategies which he...

The Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society (2004), 10, 566-577 has published an outstanding article entitled African American Acculturation and Neuropsychological Test Performance Following Traumatic Brain Injury (Abstract). As outlined in the abstract, the study reported examined the influence of...

The majority of TBI cases, from a medical standpoint as well as from a legal standpoint, involve "mild" TBI. Unfortunately, this term suggests, at least to those unfamiliar with brain injuries, that the injury is minor or trivial. Addressing the...

We know that people with disabilities, including traumatic brain injuries, will, generally speaking, earn less per year than non-impaired individuals and, just as importantly, will have a shorter work-life expectancy than their normal cohorts. Even when an injured person has...