Brain Injury Lawyer - New York

Mild head injury and mild brain injury found to cause changes in brain function

Even mild head injuries can cause significant abnormalities in brain function that last for several days, which may explain the neurological symptoms experienced by some individuals who have experienced a head injury associated with sports, accidents or combat, according to a study by Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers, published in the May issue the Journal of Neuroscience.

Previous research has shown that even a mild case of TBI can result in long-lasting neurological issues that include slowing of cognitive processes, confusion, chronic headache, posttraumatic stress disorder and depression.

The research team, demonstrated for the first time, using sophisticated bioimaging and electrophysiological approaches, that mild injury can cause structural disruption of axons in the brain while also changing the way the neurons fire in areas where they have not been structurally altered. Axons are nerve fibers in the brain responsible for conducting electrical impulses. The team used models of mild traumatic brain injury and followed morphologically identified neurons in live cortical slices.

California Sports Concussion Management Conference

The Sports Concussion Institute is sponsoring the 6th Annual National Summit on Sports Concussion & Other Athletic Injuries in Los Angelis, California on Friday June 22, 2012.

The Conference looks at established recommendations and the emerging science on sports concussion, concussion management and return to play decisions.

Click here for more information.

 

Neurosurgeons join to promote brain injury awareness

The American Academy of Neurosurgeons (AANS) has announced that it has declared the theme of its 2012 National Neurosurgery Awareness Week (NNAW), scheduled for April 15-21, 2012, to be:  Make Concussion Awareness a Part of Your Playbook.

The neurosurgical group has partnered with with ThinkFirst (a foundation committed to preventing traumatic brain and spinal injuries) and WalkSafe™ (a program focused on improving pediatric pedestrian safety, encouraging physical activity and advocating walkability around elementary schools) to encourgage the use of bicycle helmets by all school aged children.

The AANS also has updated its Patient Information pages on concussion and sports-related head injury which can be viewed by clicking here.  

Brain Injury Attorney Michael Kaplen joins WFAN Icon Bob Salter to discuss brain injury awareness, brain injury prevention and brain injury rehabilitation

On Sunday, March 11^th, New York brain injury attorney, Michael V. Kaplen joined WFAN icon Bob Salter on his morning talk show to discuss the Brain Injury Awareness Month and this year’s theme, “Brain Injury-Anytime, Anywhere, Anyone”

With reports according to the Centers for Disease Control of over 1.7 million brain injuries occurring each year in the United States and a 60% increase in reported concussions in hospital emergency departments over the past ten years, traumatic brain injury has reached epidemic levels. 

Brain injuries can last a life time and can have a profound impact on all aspects of an individual’s life.

Michael joined Bob Salter for a full hour discussion on the many aspects of brain injury awareness, brain injury prevention and brain injury rehabilitation.  You can click here to listen to the full show.

What to look for after a concussion in children when they return to school

A new study appearing in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine confirms that children may suffer attention and memory difficulties following a concussion for a year following the original injury and sometimes even longer.

The confirmation that brain damage following a concussion can last a lifetime has important implications for the role of the school and educators in dealing with the long term deficits following a traumatic brain injury.  Schools need to focus on the need to provide assistance and accommodations to students returning to the classroom following a concussion,

The study found that children with brain injuries were more likely to have both "somatic" symptoms like headache, fatigue and balance problems, and cognitive symptoms such as forgetfulness and attention problems.

The somatic symptoms tended to wane over time, but in some cases the cognitive problems persisted, particularly for those children who lost consciousness when they hit their head or had abnormal results on an MRI scan.

According to the most recent statements by the Centers for Disease Control, when students return to school after a concussion, school professionals should watch for:

• Increased problems paying attention or concentrating
• Increased problems remembering or learning new information
• Longer time needed to complete tasks or assignments
• Difficult organizing tasks or shifting between tasks
• Inappropriate or impulsive behavior during class
• Greater irritability
• Lessor ability to cope with stress
• Being more emotional than usual
• Fatigue
• Difficulties handling a stimulating environment (lights, noise, etc.)
• Physical symptoms (headache, nausea, dizziness)

 

New CDC fact sheet, Returning to School After a Concussion: A Fact Sheet for School Professionals

Each year hundreds of thousands of K-12 students sustain a concussion as a result of a fall, motor-vehicle crash, collision on the playground or sports field, or other activity.  

School professionals will often be challenged with helping return a student to school who may still be experiencing concussion symptoms—symptoms that can result in learning problems and poor academic performance. Knowledge of a concussion’s potential effects on a student, and appropriate management of the return-to-school process, is critical for helping students recover from a concussion.

A new CDC fact sheet, Returning to School After a Concussion: A Fact Sheet for School Professionals, provides steps that school professionals can take to help facilitate a student’s return to school and recovery after a concussion. It emphasizes the importance of a collaborative approach by a team that includes not only school professionals, but also the student’s family and the health care professional(s) managing the medical aspects of the student’s recovery.

 To learn more, download the new CDC fact sheet by clicking here.

A new approach to legal action against the NFL

Today's New York Daily News has a guest editorial authored by my partner, Shana De Caro and myself:

"Lawyers assert need for NFL to do more to address needs of players suffering from concussions"

The full story is below:

BY Sports Editor

By Michael V. Kaplen and Shana De Caro

As the New York Giants and the New England Patriots prepare for their Super Bowl showdown amid great hype and fanfare, another battle is being waged off the field which is not spoken about all that publicly.

While the National Football League's management of traumatic brain injuries has been duplicitous at best, the current groundswell of class-action lawsuits will neither provide essential assistance for brain damaged players nor protect those on the field.  

They do not redress the league's deliberate misconduct denying players' contract disability benefits, but rather aim to penalize the league for morally reprehensible conduct - failing to design safe concussion management protocol. Failure to acknowledge scientific evidence and institute proper return-to-play protocol is not equivalent to legal liability. The failure to fulfill the terms of a guaranteed benefit plan, however, does expose the league to liability.

Cumulative sub-concussive and concussive blows have left a wake of brain injured football players with lifelong consequences. Retired players question if they will suffer the effects of an untended brain injury. Each week, crowds roar, cash registers ring, and players are devastated by concussions. Current lawsuits ignore complex worker's compensation immunity issues, assumption of risk, and complications proving the time of suffering brain damage.

The Congress of Neurological Surgeons repudiated the misconception that concussion requires loss of consciousness more than 30 years ago. A National Institute of Health consensus statement on Brain Injury Rehabilitation in 1999 confirmed that traumatic brain injury has cognitive, behavioral, social and emotional consequences. The league continues to ignore the warnings and consequences of brain trauma despite these impartial findings. Players who deliberately ignore symptoms and knowingly assume the associated risks in exchange for short-lived glory must share in the responsibility for the current crisis. This bargain includes a long-term disability plan ostensibly intended to provide lifetime medical benefits and economic compensation. The league's intransigent and systematic denial of brain injury disability retirement applications precludes brain injured players from receiving these benefits.

The NFL has steadfastly refused to acknowledge the accumulated and overwhelming medical link between head trauma, concussions, and disability, in administering the league disability plan. Conspiring with their physicians, the league has engaged in a pattern of civil racketeering, wrongly depriving player's benefits, due process, and a full and fair opportunity to obtain disability benefits, including medical and rehabilitation care.           

The league should be commended for changes in concussion management, albeit precipitated by Congressional hearings, media attention, and threatened federal legislation. But there has been no redress for wrongful denial of disability benefits. Contract changes are vital to remove the disincentive for players to hide their symptoms. It is essential that concussion disabled players receive full contract and disability benefits.

Although brain injury is part of the game, players should not be doubly penalized. They must be assured of receiving necessary medical rehabilitation and future lost earnings. Appropriate and effective legal action must tackle the irrefutable, wrongful, and malicious league conspiracy denying disability benefits if the goal is to right the lifelong wrongs inflicted upon brain damaged professional football players.

Michael V. Kaplen is a Pleasantville lawyer who specializes in concussion cases and serves as chairman of the New York State Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinating Council, an advocacy agency for concussion patients. He is also past president of the Brain Injury Association of New York State and past chair of the American Association for Justice, Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group. Attorney Shana De Caro is the treasurer of the American Association for Justice, Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group and secretary of the Civil Justice Foundation. They believe the NFL needs to do more to address the needs of players who have suffered traumatic brain injuries.

CNN Concussion Documentary This Evening

So CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, will be discussing concussiosn this evening in his  documentary "Big Hits, Broken Dreams," airing at 5, 8 and 11 p.m.

At the center of the debate is concussions in football - how to identify them, how to prevent them and what to do once one occurs.

 

Headaches-a common finding in children following head injury and concussions

An article in the Journal Pediatrics reports that headaches, a common complaint following a concussion or other traumatic brain injury can linger for up to a year following the injury.

Children who have sustained a concussion are more likely to develop headaches than children who have sustained other types of injuries according to the study.

While not entirely surprising, the results point to a difficult long-term problem for kids and their parents because adequate treatments are lacking, researchers say.

Headaches are a truly troubling problem for children because it can affect sleep, make it harder to concentrate and cause profound personality changes. Headaches can affect school performance and must be monitored by school personal.

The study tracked more than 400 children who had come into the emergency room with a brain injury -- 402 kids had a mild injury and 60 kids had a moderate or severe injury. The study authors compared these head-injury cases to kids who had come into the emergency room with an arm injury. Parents and children kept a diary of any headaches the kids reported for a year.

After three months, 43 out of every 100 kids who experienced a mild brain injury complained of headaches. Among kids with moderate or severe brain injuries, 37 out of every 100 complained of headaches.  It's unclear why the children with mild brain injury were more likely to have headaches than those who suffered more severe damage. In comparison, 26 out of every 100 kids who had an arm injury reported having headaches three months later.

The research also reported that girls were at a greater risk of suffering from post concussion headaches than boys. Girls who had a mild brain injury were more than twice as likely to have headaches as girls who had an arm injury, whereas boys had nearly similar rates of headaches regardless of the type of injury.

Neuropsychologists demand role in the diagnosis and management of sports concussions

In an article in the journal Clinical Neuropsychology, neuropsychologists are finally demanding some recognition of the critical role they can play in the recognition of a sports concussion and the management of what is now a true crisis in the sports world.

The article, “Role of Neuropsychologists in the Evaluation and Management of Sport-related Concussion: An Inter-Organization Position Statement” Clin Neuropsychol. 2011 Nov; 25(8): 1289-1294 abstract states:

Over the past 20 years, clinical neuropsychologists have been at the forefront of both scientific and clinical initiatives aimed at developing evidence-based approaches to the evaluation and management of sport-related concussion. These efforts have directly impacted current policy on strategies for injury assessment and return-to-play by athletes after concussion. Many states are considering legislation requiring (a) education of athletes, parents, coaches, and school/organization officials on the recognition, evaluation, and management of sport-related concussions; (b) removal from play of any youth athlete that is suspected of having sustained a concussion; and (c) not allowing the student to return to participation until the student is evaluated and cleared for return to participation in writing by an appropriate healthcare professional. It is the official position of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN), American Board of Neuropsychology (ABN), Division 40 (Neuropsychology) of the American Psychological Association (APA), and the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) that neuropsychologists should be included among the licensed health care professionals authorized to evaluate, clinically manage, and provide return to play clearance for athletes who sustain a sport-related concussion.

My question for this esteemed group is where have they been in this discussion up to now?