Brain Injury Lawyer - New York

Nearly 20 percent of professional football players fail to report their concussion symtoms according to an AP study

A study sponsored by the Associated Press reports that nearly 20 percent of professional football players have hidden the fact that they sustained a concussion or down played their concussion symptoms.

The AP concussion study interviewed a cross section of NFL players, talking to five players on each of the 32 teams, which amounts to approximately  10 percent of all players.  The interview results confirms what we all know, concussions are a bigger problem in football then the NFL or its players association wants to admit to.

Players reported feeling there head vibrate like a bell, but going back to play within minutes and never reporting their symptoms.   Another player said,
"You get back up, and things are spinning," but he didn’t tell anyone.
 
Now the NFL wants players to keep tabs on each other and tell their teams if they believe someone else has a head injury.

The NFL told the AP that they believe all concussion symptoms need to be reported and that team members should be encouraged to report observations of their team mates to the medical staff.

According to the AP,  “What emerged from the AP's interviews was a wide-ranging, unprecedented look at the way active players think about head injuries in a world where "getting dinged" and "seeing stars" — and the potential long-term effects of concussions — are deemed a frightening but perhaps inevitable consequence of their job.”

The NFL says its data shows an average of one reported concussion every other game — about 120 to 130 concussions per regular season.

Of the 160 players interviewed by the AP, half said they've had at least one concussion playing football; 61 said they missed playing time because of the injury.

Players acknowledged staying on the field despite feeling "dazed" or "woozy" or having blurred vision, because, "It's what you're taught."

One thing is clear, the efforts by the NFL and the players association to educate players about the dangers and long term consequences of concussions, to date, have not worked.  Much more is needed and needed now.  Merely handing out brochures to warriors in the locker room about the dangers of concussions is not doing the job.  More serious efforts must be undertaken.  In addition to educational films which should be mandatory of former players who describe their disabling injuries and the need for vigilance, player’s wives and mothers should also be told about the dangers faced by their loved ones.  Maybe it’s time that we bring in the heavy guns to tell players, WHEN IN DOUBT, STAY OUT!

The full AP story can be read by clicking here.

Finding statistics on disabilities

Thanks to the special education law blog for information on where to find statistics that are important in the disability arena.  An important resource that provides a wealth of disability related statistics is published by the Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on Disability Statistics & Demographics.  They have published a 160 page report that has statistics on the disabilities, education and employment issues. 

Some of the interesting and important information on the prevalence of disabilities in the school system and children receiving services under IDEA: 

2.6 Million specific learning disability 43.3%
1.1 Million speech/language impairment 19.2%
624,000 other health impairment 10.6%
487,000 mental retardation 8.3%
438,000 emotional disturbance 7.4%
257,000 autism 4.3%
131,000 multiple disabilities 2.2%
88,000 developmental delay 1.5%
71,000 hearing impairment 1.2%
60,000 orthopedic impairment 1.0%
26,000 visual impairment 0.4%
24,000 traumatic brain injury 0.4%
1,300 deaf/blindness 0.02%

You can download the entire disability report by clicking here.

BrainLine receives 2009 Freddie Award

Congratulations to BrainLine for being the 2009 recipient of the Freddie Award for having the best health and medical information web site.

My partner, brain injury attorney, Shana De Caro and myself are proud to participate in Brain Line's Ask The Expert page where we have answered many questions on legal issues pertaining to traumatic brain injury.

If your loved one or yourself has been a victim of traumatic brain injury, you can learn more about our legal services at our brain injury legal web site.

Brain Injury: Tips for getting the most out of meetings with your attorney or physician

Brainline published my tips for persons who have sustained a traumatic brain injury to get the most our of their visits to professionals such as doctors and attorneys.  Often times, visits by those suffering from brain damage with professionals are frustrating experiences with very little gained.  Hopefully these tips will improve communication and make visits more productive.  This is useful information for those who have suffered a traumatic brain injury as well as professionals such as attorneys and medical providers who must interact with persons who have sustained brain damage.

The following question appears in their Ask the Expert feature: "I want to get the most out of my appointments with my attorneys and doctors. Do you have any suggestions for people with a traumatic brain injury in situations like these?"

You can read my complete response by going to brainline-ask the expert feature.

Deadline extended for The George Washington University Master's Brain Injury Certification Program

I have been requested to forward the following announcement from The George Washington University Graduate Acquired Brain Injury Certification Program.  I have been honored to be a guest lecturer at this program for the past several semesters and have viewed first hand what a great program they offer.

The George Washington University, in Washington D.C., offers graduate level programs for professional preparation in brain injury and has been a leader in this field since 1992.  Ourprograms are fully accredited by the National Council on Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and highly ranked by the Council on Exceptional Children (CEC).

We have extended our deadline and are currently accepting applications for limited spaces remaining for the fall, 2009 semester in the following programs:

1.  Master's Degree in Transition Special Education with emphasis in Acquired Brain Injury (42-48 credits) offered at the main campus only; 2.  Graduate Certificate in Brain Injury: Educational and Transition Services (15 credits) offered at the main campus; and 3. Graduate Certificate in Brain Injury: Educational and Transition Services (15 credits) offered by distance education for those participants living 50 miles or more from Washington D.C.

All programs have federal grant funding for tuition support available to qualified applicants, pending approval from the U.S. Department of Education.

For further information, contact:
1.  Monija Amani, Project Director for the Graduate Certificate program, at  202-973-1032 
2.  Dr. Zavolia (Zee) Willis, Project Director for the Master's Degree program, at 202-973-108 or

Brain Information Resources

The National Institutes of Health has some great resources for teachers and students from elementary school on up.  Click on the "Brain & Nervous System" section from the list of topics on their home page for teaching curricula and teaching aides, including Power Point Slides, discussion guides and videos. Brain Injury Teaching Resources.  Thanks to the Dana Foundation for this tip.

Kaplen appointed legal advisor to Sarah Jane Brain Foundation

I am honored to report that I have been appointed as a member of the legal advisory board of the Sarah Jane Foundation. As a brain injury attorney, I am pleased to be able to offer my years of experience in representing victims of brain trauma to the foundation.

The Mission of The Sarah Jane Brain Project is to create a model system of care for children suffering from all Pediatric Acquired Brain Injuries. You can learn more about the Sarah Jane Foundation by viewing their web site.

The foundation has joined together  51  health care institutions representing states across the country to address issues related to the treatment of brain injury, the number one cause of death and disability in children and young adults in the United States. The goal is to develop a national collaborative network to address brain trauma in children.
 
Member centers in the new network will share information and research findings on pediatric brain injuries in an effort to establish a standardized national medical plan for dealing with these injuries.

Reducing the severity of brain trauma following a car crash

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) continues to look at new technologies to reduce severe brain injuries following motor vehicle accidents.

In a new report  titled, Recommendations from the Expert Panel: Advanced Automatic Collision Notification and Triage of the Injured Patient  the  CDC looks at inboard car computer programs that provide information following a car crash.
 
This report presents the findings of a national expert panel and outlines recommendations for the use of new technologies, such as Advanced Automatic Collision Notification (AACN) or vehicle telematics, to help identify the likelihood of severe injuries, including traumatic brain injury (TBI), among individuals involved in a vehicle crash. 
 
The panel found that using available technology, such as AACN, shows promise in helping save lives through: 

•  the potential to predict the severity of injuries of vehicle crash victims, including Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI),  which can help emergency care providers more quickly identify, diagnose, transport, and treat injuries; and  
• Use of rapid communication and vehicle locating capabilities, which can help decrease response time by emergency medical services (EMS) providers.
  
  Read the full advanced automatic collision notification report now.

Brain Injury Resource Lecture at The George Washington University

I am thrilled to be in Washington DC today to again lecture at the Master's Degree Program in the Center for Education and Human Services Acquired Brain Injury Masters program at The George Washington University.

This semester’s lecture is focused on examining the various sources of information that is available on the internet in the area of traumatic brain injury. We will be exploring government web sites such as the Center For Disease Control and the National Institute of Health, great brain injury resource sites such as BrainLine, web sites that emphasize management of sports concussions, web sites that provide useful information on special education, various neuropsychological accrediting groups, brain injury association pages, brain injury professional societies and of course the brain injury news and information blog and brain law and the brain injury legal guide web site.

The Master's Degree Program in Special Education: Emphasis in Acquired Brain Injury is focused in addressing the national shortage of special education and related service personnel qualified to meet the needs of students with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and their families. Graduates are uniquely prepared to be educators and systemic improvement specialists in schools, hospitals, rehabilitation programs, advocacy programs, and related organizations. Scholarship support for qualified students is available. You can obtain more information on the GW Acquired Brain Injury Program by clicking here.

Spanish Language Resources for Brain Injury Survivors

Thanks to brainline for providing a tip on where to obtain spanish language information for individuals with brain injury and their families.  The material was prepared by the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) and are Spanish translations of three popular DVBIC handouts. Signs and Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Frequently Asked Questions About the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC), and the DVBIC Fact Sheet on TBI.  They may be downloaded at the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center web site. In Spanish, click here.  To order print copies, you can email your request to the Defense and Brain Injury Center