Brain Injury Lawyer

This month’s issue of Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics contained an interesting article, Long-Term Intellectual Outcome of Traumatic Brain Injury in Children: Limits to Neuroplasticity of the Young Brain, by Harvey S. Levin.

Dr. Levin reports on two studies from the same children’s hospital with regard to the outcome of children who have sustained traumatic brain injury.  Dr. Levin states that “taken together, these studies challenge views long held by clinicians and researchers, including that young children are more resilient to the effects of TBI on intellectual development then older children because of the greater capacity for neuroplasticity.  The view that young children have greater capacity for cerebral reorganization of function may find support in early, focal vascular lesions, but not in severe diffused white matter injury.  The data reported by Anderson, et al. also challenge the contention that children who sustain early TBI ‘grow into their deficit,’ and extrapolation from experimental lesions in regions of motor cortex and prefrontal cortex in monkeys.  Instead, the trajectory of intellectual development after early moderate to severe TBI appears to reflect a consistent lag in comparison with health children.”

I recently read an article on the International Brain Injury Association’s website by Neera Kapoor, OD, MS entitled, Photosensitivity Following Traumatic Brain Injury. The article discusses sensory disorders, including anomalies of vision, audition and olfaction, commonly associated with those who have sustained a traumatic brain injury.

Kapoor states that roughly 20-40% of brain injury survivors suffer from some form of photosensitivity. Photosensitivity, also reported as photophobia, is a common symptom in those with traumatic brain injury, usually occurring in the absence of ocular inflammation or disease. 

Treatment options remain non-standardized, however, there are possible treatments being studied which one day may provide a solution to this devastating side effect of TBI.

 

Congratulations to The Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey who recently received over $8,000 in donations from the Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation’s Triumph of the Human Spirits awards dinner.

The awards dinner was held December 1, 2011 at the Hanover Marriott in Whippany, New Jersey, honored members of the hospital's medical, nursing, therapy, and support staff for their exceptional work and dedication to patient care and service. “We value our partnership with the Kessler Institute and look forward to continued collaboration to further advance issues that help people with brain injuries in New Jersey," says Rita Steindlberger, Senior Director of Operations for the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey."The awards dinner was wonderful and I was honored to witness first-hand the commitment and positive energy of the Kessler staff, and to hear the inspiring stories of their patients."
 

The Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey (ATSNJ) released a Concussion Policy Survey which states that although New Jersey has implemented the Concussion Law, some schools are delaying in their compliance with the new regulations. The survey examined 110 high school athletic trainers throughout the state of New Jersey and states that while most districts have a board approved policy, others do not and those without blame the Law stating that it is difficult to interpret certain provisions.

Some argue that terms included in the Law, such as “physician trained in concussion management,”  “academic modifications,” and “asymptomatic,” are not clearly defined in the context of the description.

The report states that:

• Only 63% of team physicians are “trained in the management of concussions”
• 9% of respondents do not have a board approved concussion policy.
• 27% of schools adopted a generic policy.
• 84% of districts do not defined “trained in the management of concussions” in their concussion policy.
• 51% of districts do not define “asymptomatic” in their concussion policy.
• 60% of districts do not define specific academic accommodations in their concussion policy.
• 89% of school policies define “graduated return to play protocol”
• 100% of districts utilized athletic trainers as the gatekeeper for the concussion management process

Sarah Burke, Canadian freestyle skier, four-time Winter X Games Gold Medalist and Olympic gold-medal contender, died yesterday at the age of 29 after complications from an accident at the Park City, Utah halfpipe January 10th.  Burke was considered a pioneer in her sport as she successfully lobbied to add superpipe skiing to the Olympic Winter Games.

The accident tore one of Burke’s major arteries supplying blood to her brain, causing her to go into cardiac arrest. She underwent surgery and spent nine days on life support at the University of Utah Hospital. Doctors state that Burke suffered irreversible brain damage after the fall because of a lack of oxygen and blood to the brain.

Members of the skiing community say Burke was a pioneer among freeskiers who inspired them to do greater things. "Sarah was the one who, in a very positive way, stood in the face of adversity and asked, `Why not?"' said Peter Judge, the CEO of Canada's freestyle team.

"She's probably one of the nicest people I've known in my life, and that's about the only thing I have to say about it," said American superpipe skier Simon Dumont, a multiple X Games medalist.

Burke’s death is a devastating blow to the skiing community. Every day, experienced and knowledgeable athletes suffer serious, life-threatening and even deadly brain injuries. I hope that Burke’s story will serve as a reminder for those who participate in such activities to use extreme caution while enjoying these sports.

The Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey (formerly the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey) will host the 2012 Gala Tuesday, March 13, 2012. The event will take place at the Hanover Marriott in Whippany, New Jersey.

The gala will honor individuals who have displayed extraordinary leadership in our New Jersey communities:

• Peter A. Inverso, President & CEO, Roma Financial Corporation
• Al Maghazehe, President & CEO, Capital Health Systems, Inc.
• Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr., New Jersey’s 8th Congressional District

Becky Quick, Co-Anchor of CNBC’s Squawk Box, will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies and Honorary Chair. For information about tickets or sponsorship opportunities, contact Kit Hall at khall@bianj.org or 732.745.0200.

Effective January 1, 2012, The Brain Injury Association of New Jersey will no longer be a chartered state affiliate of the Brain Injury Association of America. BIANJ assures it’s supporters that there will be no disruption in the services provided.

The BIANJ is an incorporated entity in the state of New Jersey and therefore, does not receive financial support from The Brain Injury Association of America. The monetary contributions awarded through government contracts, corporate and foundation grants, and from individual donations will not be affected. Additionally, in an effort to create a larger presence, the BIANJ is working with representatives from other state brain injury organizations that are no longer affiliated with BIAA to discuss ways that they can work together to improve the lives of people with brain injury and their caregivers.
 

A recent New York Times article details the struggles many families face after one member sustains a traumatic brain injury. Until recently, there had been little to no research conducted on how to rebuild a marriage, and a family, after such a traumatic event. Doctors frequently warn the uninjured spouse that the significant changes in the injured party’s personality is too much for a marriage to stand, and ultimately, these families are faced with divorce.

Contrary to popular belief however, many marriages do survive after a spouse suffers a brain injury. Some studies find divorce rates well below the national average among these couples, including an investigation which was conducted in 2007 which found that the divorce rate was around 17% in couples followed for as long as 90 months after a spouse sustained a brain injury.

The article offers insight into the work Dr. Jeffrey S. Kreutzer, a psychologist at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA is conducting. Dr. Kreutzer is trying to develop marriage counseling techniques tailored to couples dealing with brain injuries. Traditional marriage counselors often hope to restore people and their relationships to their original form, while Dr. Kreutzer realizes that recovery often means teaching uninjured spouses to forge a relationship with a profoundly changed person — and helping injured spouses to accept that they are changed people.

The International Brain Injury Association is now accepting nominations for their 2012 Young Investigator Award and Lifetime Achievement Award. The deadline for both awards is Monday January 23, 2012.

Nominations for the Young Investigator Award for Early Career Contributions to the Field of Brain Injury Science must be no more than 10 years post-completion of training (either MD, DO or PhD). The awardee will receive a crystal award acknowledging their accomplishment and a $2,000 cash prize at the Gala Dinner during the IBIA World Congress. This award is given biennially. The IBIA awards committee will make the final decision on the winner with the input of the Chairperson and President.
 

The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to a candidate who has made significant contributions to the field of brain injury through some form of advocacy (prevention, education, legislative, scientific, etc). It is anticipated that said individual will have made a contribution to the field of brain injury advocacy and support over at least a twenty (20) year time span. Nominations may be made by any party, whether an IBIA member or not.

You can access more information on each award, including additional requirements for nominating a candidate, online here.

The Brain Injury Association of New Jersey will be launching a new support group this February. The group will be located in Willingboro, New Jersey and will host their first meeting on February 21, 2011.

The new group will focus on serving teens and young adults with brain injury, as well as their parents and caregivers. For more information about the meeting contact:  Elizabeth Blackburn-Gruver or Mary Wightman Murdock at 609-877-4111.