Brain Injury Lawyer - New York

House of Representatives passes ground breaking sports concussion legislation

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation last evening which would set federal guidelines on addressing sports related concussions in school age children.

The bill would require the government to convene a conference of medical, athletic and education experts to draft guidelines that address the prevention, identification, treatment and management of concussions in school-aged children. They would include standards for allowing children to return to play after suffering a concussion.

What we need are national standards that all schools can implement regarding the important decision of when to allow a student athlete to return to play following a concussion.  This must include the minimum amount of time required before a student with a concussion is allowed to return to play, mandatory medical clearance, mandatory base line neuropsychological testing and retesting following a concussion, funding for educational programs regarding the risks of brain injury and the signs and symptoms of a concussion. 

Importantly, recommendations must also include resolution of the important issues surrounding the medical costs involved in testing, retesting and treatment if necessary.  All of this needs to be mandated under an individual’s health insurance coverage.

Congressman, Bill Pascrell, D-NJ, chair of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force should be congratulated on proposing this ground breaking legislation.

Boston Sports Concussion Conference

The Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) and the Office of Continuing Medical Education at Boston University School of Medicine, in conjunction with the Sports Legacy Institute, Boston University School of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Injury Foundation of Massachusetts is presenting a conference this Friday on sports concussions.

According to the conference sponsor’s, this conference will provide state of the art knowledge for healthcare providers, athletic trainers, and others, by providing a balanced mix of diagnostic, prevention, and intervention topics in the field of sports-related head trauma. The conference will feature detailed presentations from CSTE researchers whose work on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy has recently been featured on 60 Minutes, HBO, Time Magazine, The New Yorker, the New York Times, and many other media outlets.

In addition, the conference will be covering: the Pathophysiology and Biomechanics of Concussion; Concussive and Subconcussive Trauma in Football (Lessons from Helmet Sensors); Youth Concussion Management; On the Field Management of Concussion; and Office-Based Clinical Management of Concussion.

Concussion Initiatives from the NFL and National Governing Bodies will be presented, as will new recommendations from Sports Legacy Institute to Improve the Safety of Football.

This conference is almost full.  Call the CME Office at (617) 638-4605 for space availability.

Interstate Trucking Accident Seminar to Address Brain Injuries

I am pleased to have been invited to speak at the upcoming Litigating Truck Collision Case Seminar sponsored by the American Association for Justice in Las Vegas, NV on October 8, 2010.

My scheduled topic, The Pitfalls of representing a client with a traumatic brain injury is intended to provide important information to attorneys representing clients with brain injuries in truck crash cases.

More information on this seminar can be updated from the American Association for Justice.

Concussion Hearing: Listen to Kaplen discuss concussions this saturday morning

This Saturday morning at 6:30 AM, I will be appearing on WOR Saturday Morning Show  (radio  710 AM) News Talk Radio with Joe Bartlett to discuss today's Congressional hearing examining issues related to school-sports concussions. I believe that the show is also available by podcast.  Click here for information about the WOR News Radio Talk Show

I will be explaining the recent recommendations of the New York State Traumatic Brain Injury Coordinating Council which I chair.  These recommendations would mandate all school-based sports programs to require pre season base line testing and retesting once a concussion or a suspected concussion takes place as well as the need for mandatory health insurance coverage of this testing.

Today' Congressional hearing offered some good suggestions on how to protect our nation's youth, but until standards become uniform throughout the country and until testing and medical clearance becomes mandatory with some clear guidelines, I am fearful that some districts and some coaches will still fail to provide proper protection to student athletes.

Everyone needs to be on the same page.  We cannot have a patch work system where each district is free to do as they please and interpret guidelines in a manner that fails to afford proper protection to students who have sustained a brain injury.

Remember, WHEN IN DOUBT, KEEP THEM OUT!

Sports concussion conference postponed

Regrettably due to unforseen circumstances, the sports concussion management symposium which was sponsored by the Brain Injury Association of New York State and scheduled for Saturday, September 25, at St. John's University in Manhattan, has been postponed. Keep checking the Brain Injury Assocation of New York State website to find out when the conference will be re-scheduled.

Congressional Sport Concussion Hearing Scheduled for Thursday

On, Thursday, September 23, the House Education and Labor Committee will examine legislation to reduce and more safely manage concussions in student athletes.  The Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act would establish minimum standards in K-12 schools on concussion safety and management, including educating students, parents and school personnel about how to recognize and respond to concussions.

At the request of several members of the Education and Labor Committee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigated the prevalence of concussions in high school athletics and found that concussions often go unrecognized. Recent research shows that concussions can have serious repercussions for student athletes both on the field and in the classroom. During the 2005-2008 school years, an estimated 400,000 concussions occurred in high school athletics – brain injuries that often go unnoticed and untreated.

I hope that this congressional committee will give serious consideration to the sports concussion recommendations made last week by the New York State Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinating Council (TBISCC) which I chair.  These recommendations will both improve the quality of life for individuals suffering from a traumatic brain injury and prevent future brain injuries from occurring.

The TBISCC has recommended the enactment and implementation of regulations and/or legislation which would require school districts to utilize sports related neuropsychological assessments to determine pre-injury base line neurocognitive functioning.

The council further recommended that serial retesting be required following a brain injury or suspected brain injury for all students in engaged in school-based athletic programs.

A second recommendation by the council was for legislation and/or regulations that provide that the expenses associated with sports related neuropsychological assessments, both baseline pre-injury assessments and serial post-injury reassessments, be included as mandated coverage under each and every health insurance policy.
It would be practical to include regulations covering the council’s second recommendation under the recently enacted federal health care act as “preventive pediatric care”.

I look forward to addressing the committee during its hearing.

Chiari malformation can be caused by whiplash injuries in car accidents

A new study published in the journal Brain Injury, "Chiari and Whiplash Injury," shows that whiplash may also cause anatomical changes that can result in brain injury.

This study is important evidence to establish the link between neck injury in an automobile accident and the development of a brain malformation known as a Chiari malformation.  In a Chiari malformation, the bottom part of the brain (the cerebellum) dips through an opening in the base of the skull after a whiplash injury.

This causes severe headaches and other neurological symptoms in patients.
The study, one of the few to look at the connection between whiplash and brain injury, examined the MRI scans of 1200 neck pain patients and found that those patients suffering from whiplash were more likely to have anatomical changes to the brain resulting in brain injury, specifically, a Chiari brain herniation. Preliminary findings showed that brain injury occurred in 23% of the whiplash cases studied.

The brain injury attorneys at the brain injury law firm of De Caro & Kaplen, LLP can assist you in establishing that a Chiari malformation was caused by your automobile accident.

Important Traumatic Brain Injury Recommendations Made Today in New York State

The New York State Traumatic Brain Injury Coordinating Council (TBISCC) was created by act of the New York State legislature in 1994 and is "charged with recommending to the department (department of health) long range objectives, goals and priorities. It shall also provide advice on the planning, coordination and development of needed services"  Chapter 196, Laws of the State of New York, 1994.

I am honored to be the Chair of the New York State Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinating Council and very pleased to announce that at today's council meeting held in Albany, New York, two very significant proposals were adopted, each of which will improve the quality of life for persons with brain injury and will go a long way in preventing preventable brain injuries from occurring.

The first proposal and recommendation is for the creation of a traumatic brain injury trust fund in New York State to be funded through a surcharge on motor vehicle registrations.  The funds accumulated through this trust fund will finance needed services in New York State including brain injury education and prevention; brain injury research and provide some assistance to persons with a brain injury and their family members who have no alternative sources of assistance.  [a summary of the proposal is set forth below]

The second proposal and recommendation calls for legislation and/or regulations in New York State requiring mandatory pre-season base line neuropsychological testing of students engaged in school-based athletic programs and retesting if a concussion or suspected concussion takes place before that athlete is permitted to return to play.

The recommendation also includes a provision that the payment for such testing be made a mandatory component of all health insurance plans written in New York State as part of the definition of preventive care.  Mandatory coverage for preventive care in individuals under the age of 19 is now required in New York.  However, it is up to the Commissioner of Health to determine the procedures and/or care that fall under the definition of preventive care. [the full proposal is set forth below]

Traumatic Brain Injury Trust Fund Recommendation (summary):

It is the recommendation of the New York State Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinating Council that the New York State legislature establish a Traumatic Brain Injury Trust Fund to finance traumatic brain injury education, prevention and information services; research best practices of rehabilitative care following a traumatic brain injury; and services not otherwise funded for persons with a brain injury and their family members.

It is recommended that the aforesaid services be funded by the imposition of a $2.00 surcharge on all motor vehicle registrations in the State of New York.

Mandatory Pre-Season Base line Neuropsychological Evaluation of all students engaged in school-based athletic programs with mandatory insurance coverage:

It is recommended that the State of New York enact and implement regulations and/or legislation requiring school districts to utilize sports related neuropsychological assessments to determine pre-injury base line neurocognitive functioning. It is further recommended that serial retesting be required following a brain injury or suspected brain injury for all students engaged in school-based athletic programs. All testing must be performed by individuals trained in the administration and interpretation of test results.

It is further recommended that the expenses associated with sports related neuropsychological assessments, both baseline pre-injury assessments and serial post-injury reassessments, which are performed and evaluated by trained professionals, be included as mandated coverage under each and every health insurance policy issued within the State of New York.

 

 

 

 

New York State Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinating Council Scheduled to Consider Recommendations Establishment of Traumatic Brain Injury Trust Fund and Requirments For Mandatory Pre-Season Base Line Testing To Assess Sport Concussion Injuries

As Chair of the New York State Traumatic Brain Injury Services Coordinating Council, I will be chairing our quarterly meeting in Albany, New York tomorrow at 10:30 AM at the offices of  the New York State Department of Health located at 161 Delaware Avenue, Delmar, New York.  The meeting is open to all members of the public.

The Council, created by the New York State legislature to make recommendations and proposals to the Commissioner of Health regarding traumatic brain injury, is scheduled to consider two important proposals.

The first proposal recommends the establishment of a Traumatic Brain Injury Trust Fund in New York State would establish a fund created from a surcharge assessed on motor vehicle registrations which would fund brain injury education, research and treatment programs within New York State. 

The second proposal is a recommendation that New York State require school districts to implement mandatory pre-season baseline neuropsychological testing for all students participating in school athletic programs and retesting following a concussion or a suspected concussion.  The recommendation also calls for mandatory insurance coverage of the costs associated with this testing.

Traumatic brain injury needs to be redefined as a chronic medical condition

Traumatic brain injury needs to be redefined as a chronic disease to ensure that patients receive proper medical care and that this care is reimbursed by health insurance plans according to an article in the Journal of Neurotraumac co authored by Doctors Brent Masel and Douglas DeWitt.

Insurance carriers now consider brain injury to be a singular event instead of  the beginning of an ongoing process that impacts multiple organ systems and may cause or accelerate other diseases and disorders that can reduce life expectancy.

The authors conclude that traumatic brain injury should be re-defined and managed as a chronic disease to ensure that patients receive appropriate care.

For too long medical insurance carriers have been permitted to treat long term brain injury care under the category of rehabilitation services and then limit this care to arbitrary periods of time, such as 30 or 60 days under the rehab provisions of their policies.   

Brain injury and brain damage cannot be treated in the same manner as a fractured hip.  The brain is a vital organ and the necessary care that individuals suffering from brain damage require cannot be considered rehabilitation, but needs to be re-categorized as necessary on-going medical treatment. 

Similarly, insurance carriers cannot be permitted to limit care to arbitrary time periods and then discontinue further care on the grounds that there has been no substantial improvement.  Brain injury recovery simply cannot be measured in days or weeks and it is improper for an insurance carrier to use this standard to judge the  benefit of further brain injury rehabilitation.