Brain Injury Lawyer - New York

New Job Resource For Brain Injury Professionals

The North American Brain Injury Association (NABIS) has launched a new employment resource for brain injury professionals, allowing them to post and review resumes and job information on line.

For Employers: Target a focused audience of qualified brain injury professionals, post your jobs, search resumes and promote your company on-line.

For Job Seekers: Post your resume - confidentially if you choose. Search job listings and receive automatic email notification whenever a job matches your specific criteria.

You can visit the NABIS brain injury professional career resource center by clicking here.

The type of fluid given to victims of severe brain damage influences survival

Persons with severe traumatic brain injury are frequently administered fluids to maintain their blood pressures.  An adequate blood pressure translates into a sufficient amount of blood reaching the brain in order to provide needed oxygenation of brain tissue.  If blood pressures are not maintained at proper levels then an individual's brain will not receive sufficient oxygenated blood.  Oxygen is the "food" for the brain and it's absence will cause brain cells to rapidly die.

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, August 30th issue suggests that persons who are given saline solution rather than albumin, a protein solution manufactured from the blood, have double the the survival rate at 24 months after injury.

"We determined that the 2-year mortality rate was significantly high in those patients who received albumin-based fluids compared to those who received saline, particularly those patients with severe brain injuries who presented with traumatic coma," said the study's lead author, Dr. John Myburgh, director of the division of critical care and trauma at the George Institute for International Health, in Sydney, Australia.

"Given the significant difference in mortality that we observed, we recommend that albumin-based fluids be avoided for the acute fluid resuscitation of patients with traumatic brain injury," added Myburgh, who's also a professor of critical care at the University of New South Wales.

After two years, the researchers behind the new study found that people with traumatic brain injuries who received albumin had a 63 percent higher risk of dying than those given saline. For those with severe brain injuries, the albumin group had an 88 percent increased risk of death compared to the saline group.

Still needed are answers to the critical question of why saline administration produced a better outcome than the albumin.

Read more about this study by clicking here.

VA Offers On Line Traumatic Brain Injury Course

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers an on-line Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Independent Study Course.  This curriculum presents an overview of TBI issues that primary care practitioners may encounter when providing care to veterans and active duty military personnel.  While it is primarily designed for medical personnel and other practitioners interested in traumatic brain injury care, the course contains useful information for everyone.

You may access the on-line independent study course directly by establishing a username and password by clicking here.  When you go to the site you can also download a pdf version of the course without registering. 

Madden NFL 08 Criticized For Violent Content

Today's Houston Chronicle contains an interesting article, In games, it's all about the big hit.  The article discusses the mounting criticism of the new Madden video football game and its emphasis on violence.

I am honored to have been extensively quoted in the article about the myths perpetuated by the NFL in licensing this product.  This new version of Madden is reportedly the most violent version ever produced.  It's emphasis on the big hit sends the message to all who view this game, that the big hit doesn't cause any head injury or brain damage. 

If the NFL is serious in their concern over concussions, they ought to rethink the image they are creating in the minds of young fans when they allow these video games to be produced under their license. The NFL should learn that the best cure for brain injuries is prevention! 

Epilepsy Free Children's Event in New York City

FACES (Finding A Cure for Epilepsy), a not for profit organization, administered by the New York University Comprehensive Epilepsy Program will be hosting a Game Day on Saturday, September 29, 2007 from 2:00pm - 5:00pm at Chelsea Piers - Field House, West 23rd Street and the Hudson River, New York City

This free event will enable children with epilepsy, their siblings and parents to enjoy exclusive use of the Chelsea Piers Field House.   Families will enjoy soccer, basketball, batting cages, trampoline foam pits, rock climbing, a toddler gym, clowns, magicians, games and more!

To register, click here .

New York State Brain Injury Conference Announced

Each year the New York State Department of Health sponsors a full day symposium on traumatic brain injury bringing together providers, persons with a brain injury and family members from across New York State.  The Health Department has just announced that this year's program "Working Together: The Best Practices" will be held on October 11th from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center, Albany, New York.

The stated goal of the conference is "to provide an affordable and accessible opportunity for learning, training, networking and sharing for individuals who experience brain injury and their families, enhance knowledge, encourage the pursuit of excellence, and promote dignity and choice." 

This year's conference keynote speaker is Abigail Thomas, author of the A Three Dog Life, her account of life with her husband following his traumatic brain injury.  The story is a moving account of living with an individual following brain damage.  It is a book truly worth reading. 

Scholarships are available for persons with a brain injury and family members.  They must be requested by September 15th

For further information about this conference and to obtain a brochure, you can telephone Laura Roe at 518 474 6580 or you can e mail her.

More NFL Double Talk on Concussions

Just when I thought that maybe the NFL is getting it when it comes to concussions and preventing brain damage, comes an article in today's New York Times, New Advice by NFL in Handling Concussions.

According to the news report, the NFL has finally adapted a policy prohibiting players who have been knocked unconscious to return to play during the game in which they were injured.

Not bad, but what about players who were not knocked unconscious, but sustained a concussion anyway?  Don't they need the same protection.  It's been over twenty years now that we know that serious brain damage and concussions can happen even without loss of consciousness.  Come on NFL, read the medical literature!

And their is more.  The league says that their policy is only that of erring on the side of caution.  Not that they really believe that that it is necessary to keep players who have been knocked out from returning to play.  You've got to be kidding. 

The statements made by the league in this article are truly troubling.  It's time that this league not only talk the talk. It's time that they really get serious about concussions.

Useful Tips on Preventing Brain Injuries and Other Childhood Injury

Here's some useful advice to pass along to parents from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on preventing head injury and other injuries to children returning to school:

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)  offers the following ABCs of back-to-school safety:

    (A)  Always wear the right helmet for the activity.

     Wearing a helmet significantly reduces the risk of a head injury and can save your child's life. Bicycle helmets, for instance, can reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent.
    There are different helmets for different activities. Each type of helmet is made to protect the head from the impacts that are common to a particular sport or activity. For the best protection, make sure your child wears the right helmet whether it's for biking, football or baseball.
    Fit is important. A helmet should be comfortable and snug, level on the head and securely buckled so it doesn't move or fall off during a fall or collision.
    For more information on helmet safety, go to CPSC's publication "Which Helmet for Which Activity"

     (B) Be safe on the playground and on the soccer field.

    Hidden hazards can lurk on the playground or sports field. More than 200,000 children each year visit hospital emergency rooms due to injuries received on playgrounds.
    To prevent the most common type of playground injury -- a child falling from equipment -- make sure there is at least a nine inch layer of shock absorbing surface material made of wood chips, mulch, sand, or pea gravel, or safety-tested rubber or fiber material mats underneath and around playground equipment.
    Cover exposed hardware that can catch clothing, and remove any free-hanging ropes. Both are strangulation hazards.
    On the soccer field, work with your school to ensure portable soccer goals are securely anchored when in use. Movable soccer goals can fall over and kill or injure children who climb on them or hang from the crossbar.  Since 1979, CPSC has reports of at least 28 deaths associated with soccer goals.

    (C)  Care with clothing and art materials.
   
      Don't buy jackets or sweatshirts, or any upper outerwear for children,if they have hood or neck drawstrings. Remove drawstrings from hoods or around the necks of jackets and sweatshirts in your children's closets.  Drawstrings pose a strangulation hazard because they can get caught on playground equipment or other products. Over the past 20 years, CPSC has received reports of 23 deaths and 64 non-fatal incidents involving the entanglement of children's clothing drawstrings.
   
      Art should be fun, not dangerous. Make sure any new art materials you buy or that your school uses contain the statement, "CONFORMS TO ASTM D-4236." Check older art materials to see if they've been recalled .

    For more information on back-to-school safety, go to CPSC's "Back to School Safety Checklist,"

Lead Paint Danger's At Home

By now we all have heard about the dangerous levels of lead paint found in Mattel toys manufactured in China.  But, did you know that the largest threat for lead poisoning in children today is still the lead paint found in walls and on other surfaces in the home?

Lead-based house paint was banned in 1978, but it's still on the walls, windows, trim and doors of an estimated 20 million homes. It likely has been painted over many times in most homes, but it's still a hazard if exposed. What's worse, old paint on window casings can create lead dust for decades when the window is opened and closed.

Lead is a potent neurotoxin that can affect the brain, resulting in a lower IQ, poor memory and attention, decreased motor skills and self-control, and increased aggression.

Infants and toddlers are especially vulnerable because their brains are developing quickly, and they tend to put their hands in their mouths often, swallowing lead dust from floors, walls and elsewhere.

Because the dangers of lead paint poisoning cannot be detected by merely looking at a child, all children need to have blood tests for lead paint screening. 

New web site for Sports Legacy Institute

My good friend Chris Nowinski, author of Head Games, a wonderful book about the crisis of concussions in sports today, has just launched a new web site for the Sports Legacy Institute.

The Sports Legacy Institute  (SLI) is dedicated to studying the effects of concussions and other sports related brain injuries.  Through its efforts, SLI aims to  maximize the safety and vitality of all athletes who participate in contact and collision sports around the globe. 

If you go to the Institutes's web site, you can get on their email list to be updated on their mission.

Change the Face of Sports - Make a Donation to the Sports Legacy Institute:

To promote medical and scientific research, education, prevention, and advocacy in brain related sports injury issues, the Sports Legacy Institute relies on the financial support of people who are interested in seeing the health and wellness of athletes of all ages and the overall safety of sports improved.   Click here for further information about donating to the Sports Legacy Institute.