Brain Injury Lawyer - New York

Upcoming brain injury conferences

Jul 28-30
2010 Alaska Brain Injury Conference
Anchorage, AK
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Sep 10-11
25th Annual Hike For Brain Injury Awareness
Colorado Springs, CO
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Sep 17-18
Understanding and Dealing with Behaviour Problems Following Brain Injury
London, United Kingdom
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Oct 6-8
NASHIA and NABIS Joint Meeting
Minneapolis, MN
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Oct 7-9
23rd Conference on Legal Issues in Brain Injury
Minneapolis, MN
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Oct 14
Cognitive, Behavioral, and Physical Rehabilitation Approaches After TBI
Kingston, NY
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Oct 20-21
28th Annual Brain Injury Association of Colorado Conference
Colorado Springs, CO
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Oct 22
9th Annual Neuro-Rehab Conference
Loma Linda, CA
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Nov 13
How to do Cognitive Rehabilitation
London, United Kingdom
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Nov 17-19
21st Pacific Coast Brain Injury Conference
Vancouver, BC Canada
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Dec 3-4
Attention and Information Processing: Advanced Cognitive Rehabilitation Workshop
How to do Cognitive Rehabilitation
London, United Kingdom
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Pentagon issues new brain injury detection directives

NPR reports that the Pentagon has issued a new directive ordering better tracking and treatment of mild traumatic brain injuries in war zones, including a mandatory 24-hour rest period for any soldier exposed to a nearby blast.

The new policy, which has been in development for months, also requires soldiers who have suffered three mild traumatic brain injuries, to have a complete neurological assessment done before returning to the battlefield.

The directive places the focus on evaluating all soldiers exposed to a blast or other head trauma, as opposed to relying upon medical staff or soldiers themselves to report symptoms from an injury.

Under previous policies, medics were supposed to evaluate soldiers after blasts, but there was no mandatory rest period. Medical guidelines did not specify how many concussions triggered the need for a complete evaluation of a soldier's cognitive functions.

Read the full NPR story by clicking here.

Therapuetic value of music following a brain injury

Thanks to the Dana Institute and their publication, Brain in the News for providing a tip to a web site exploring the use of music in brain injury rehabilitation.

Researchers at the Music and Neuorimaging Laboratory are investigating the educational and therapeutic value of music.  They are working on ways to incorporate music music in brain injury programs. For example, through singing simple phrases, stroke victims might recovery some of their language skills. Check out the brain injury music lab which is part of the Harvard Medical School

Congress urges better care for brain injured war veterans

In a letter to the secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs, Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) and a bipartisan group of Veterans' Affairs and Armed Services committee members urged stronger coordination and better follow up on traumatic brain injury (TBI). "Veterans and their families should not have to wait nearly a decade for the government to adapt to the needs of the wounded," said Akaka. The Senators called for specific improvements from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki.

Read the full text of the congressional letter

Swimming Pool Safety Prevents Drowning and Brain Injury

Drowning in swimming pools and sps are a leading cause of traumatic brain injury in our children.  There are simple steps that pool owners need to take to prevent this needless injury.  They include, constant vigilance around pools. fences, drain covers and door alarms.

Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) debuts a series of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) about their Pool Safely campaign illustrating how simple steps saves lives at pools and spas.

Partnering with the American Red Cross and the YMCA of the USA ), CPSC produced broadcast, print and radio PSAs that are being distributed to media outlets across the country. Available to local television and radio stations in English and Spanish, the English-language versions feature Ming-Na, the voice of Mulan in Disney animated films and star of the NBC drama "ER", The Joy Luck Club and currently starring in Stargate Universe.

The PSAs introduce four families and stories about the simple steps that save lives: door alarms, knowledge of CPR, fencing around pools and spas and safety drain covers in spas. The characters in the broadcast PSA are also featured in the print versions of the PSA. The radio PSAs promote the importance of swimming lessons as a simple step that save lives.

 The PSAs will also be available on the Pool Safely YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/poolsafely).

Parents support concussion awareness and injury prevention programs despite low level of knowledge concerning the dangers of concussions

A recent poll released by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Michigan,  found that only 8% of parents have “read or heard a lot” about the risks of repeat concussions in school sports, while 36% of parents knew nothing about the topic.

 

Despite the low level of knowledge that parent’s have regarding concussions, the poll results also show that parents are clearly worried about concussions and brain injury and would support programs designed to improve concussion awareness and the safety of student athletes.

 

Nearly two-thirds of parents said they were “worried” about concussions, with 18% indicating they were “very worried.”

 

The poll, conducted in May 2010 in the United States, included 291 parents of athletes aged 12 to 17 years. The sample was weighted to reflect population figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, according to a press release announcing the poll results.

 

Many schools have no concussion policy at all, according to the poll. For example, 84% of parents said schools should require athletes to be cleared by a doctor after a concussion, but only 36% could confirm if their child’s school had a specific policy on returning to games after a concussion.

 

Most parents also supported requiring coaches to receive information on concussion risks, and a mandatory period of nonparticipation following a concussion.

 

A total of 85% of parents believed a coach or certified trainer would handle a concussion properly, and 67% said certified trainers or other health professionals should be onsite during games and practices. Yet only 52% of parents confirmed a certified trainer was onsite during their kids’ games, and only 38% said a trainer was present at practices, according to the poll.

 

Parents disagreed on how schools should pay for certified trainers: 43% indicated the general school budget, 28% said team fundraising or fees, 20% deferred to the state or federal government, and 9% said health professionals should volunteer their time.

 

You can read the full poll results by clicking here.