Brain Injury Lawyer - New York

Helmet laws save money as well as lives

Universal helmet laws, which require that every motorcycle rider and passenger wear a helmet whenever they ride, can increase helmet use and save money, according to a new Centers for Disease Control (CDC) motorcycle helmet study.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2010, cost savings in states with universal motorcycle helmet laws were nearly four times greater (per registered motorcycle) than in states without these comprehensive laws. Annual costs saved from helmet use, in terms of medical, productivity, and other costs, ranged from a high of $394 million in California (which has a universal helmet law) to a low of $2.6 million in New Mexico (which has a partial law, or a law requiring that only certain riders wear helmets). Partial helmet laws require that only certain riders, such as those under age 21, wear a helmet.

Universal helmet laws result in cost savings by increasing helmet use among riders and passengers, which reduces crash-related injuries and deaths. According to a CDC analysis of fatal crash data from 2008 to 2010, 12% of motorcyclists in states with universal helmet laws were not wearing helmets.  In comparison, 64% of riders were not wearing helmets in states with partial helmet laws, and 79% of riders were not wearing helmets in states with no helmet laws.

Brain Injury Association of America Annual Awards

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) is seeking nominations for its awards to outstanding researchers and clinicians for recognition by the association.

The William Fields Caveness Award recognizes an individual who, through research on both a national and international level, has made outstanding contributions to bettering the lives of people who have sustained brain injury.

The Sheldon Berrol, M.D. Clinical Service Award recognizes an individual who, through a long service career, has made outstanding contributions to improving the quality of care, professional training and/or education in the field of brain injury.

Click Download Awards+Nomination+Form+2012[1]to access the nomination form.   Nominations must be received by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July 18, 2012. For more information, contact Marianna Abashian.

Domestic violence and brain injury-new webinair

Domestic Violence often leads to a traumatic brain injury.

The Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury will host its next webinar, “Intimate Partner Violence: What Health Care Providers Need to Know,” from 1 to 2:30 p.m. (EDT) June 28.

Intimate partner violence, also known as domestic violence, is a serious public health problem in the United States. According to “The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Study: 2010 Summary Report” by Michele C. Black, et al., 2011, nearly 30 percent of women and 10 percent of men have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by a partner. Victims are at risk for a variety of physical and psychological health concerns, including traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and substance misuse.

Co-occurring issues, such as violent behavior, aggression, alcohol misuse and PTSD, may increase the risk of someone hurting a partner. Research suggests that veterans with PTSD have a higher incidence of perpetrating domestic violence than veterans without the diagnosis and those co-occurring issues may be related to combat experience.

Subject matter experts will discuss the impact of partner violence on victims’ psychological health, identify appropriate screening methods for signs of abuse and examine the relationship between domestic violence and PTSD, emphasizing provider-level care strategies.

Featured speakers are:

■April A. Gerlock, Ph.D., ANRP, Department of Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Health Services Research and Development Service NW Center of Excellence research associate

■Carole Warshaw, M.D., National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma and Mental Health director

All professionals who care for service members are encouraged to attend, including service members and their families. You may register for domestic violence webinair  or review further information.

Headaches found to be worse with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury as Compared to Other Forms of Brain Injury

At a presentation made at the proceedings of American Headache Society, Los Angeles, it was reported that a recent study found that individuals who've had a mild traumatic brain injury have more severe headaches and a greater number of headaches than those who've had moderate to severe brain injury.

 "We have known that headache is the most common physical symptom after traumatic brain injury, but we wanted to study headache prospectively including whether severity of injury had an impact in prevalence," study lead author Dr. Sylvia Lucas, of the University of Washington Medical Center, in Seattle, said in an American Headache Society news release.

 She and her colleagues evaluated patients with mild, moderate or severe traumatic brain injury at three, six and 12 months after their brain injury. Those with mild injury were more likely to report new or worse headaches than those with moderate to severe injury.

 "These findings should caution us to not underestimate seemingly milder head injuries and to take all brain trauma very seriously," Lucas said.

 

Tickets still available to join the brain injury association to watch the Mets at Citifield

Join hundreds of your Brain Injury Association of New York State (BIANYS) friends on Sunday, July 8th, for the second annual brain injury/ concussion awareness day at Citi Field. While the NY Mets play the Chicago Cubs, BIANYS and our allies spread the word about brain injury and concussion.

 Tickets are still available today for $45 in the Left Field Reserved section. Handicapped-accessible seating is available in the same section. The tickets include access to the Caesar's, Acela, and Promenade Clubs.

 Help the brain injury association hit a grand slam with this event by buying a block of seats. The first 25,000 fans to the game will receive a poster of Mr. Met. There are also some fantastic sponsorship opportunities for large groups and organizations! We also have some great benefits for individuals who sell 25 or more tickets to the game.

Order tickets and learn more about the event and sponsorship opportunities through the BIANYS website.

Together we can work to strike out brain injury!

Traumatic brain injury and headaches subject of annual meeting of headache association

Individuals suffering from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) frequently complain of severe headaches. Headaches are associated with a condition known as post-concussion syndrome. The American Headache Society will focus their annual conference scheduled to be held in Los Angeles from June 18^th through June 24^th on the topic of headaches following a traumatic brain injury.

"As migraine specialists, we cannot ignore the fact that traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an increasingly common medical problem today and that those who experience severe and untreated blows to the brain may end up with serious neurological damage and long-lasting medical and psychological problems," said Elizabeth Loder, MD, MPH, president of the American Headache Society (AHS) and Chief of the Division of Headache and Pain in the Department of Neurology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "We owe it to our nation's military as well as to our children in contact sports to raise awareness of TBI and make this issue a national health priority."

A symposium, scheduled to be held on June 23, will cover "School Issues with Concussion" and "Post-Concussion Headaches" and include world-renown experts on the subject.

Another session includes discussion of "Military Traumatic Brain Injuries: Mild, Common, and Unique," "Epidemiology of Military Headache," and "Treating Military Post-Traumatic Headache."

Further information can be obtained by going to the American Headache Society web site.

New brain imaging technology shows every brain injury is different

New brain imaging technology diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) shows that abnormalities that occur in various areas of the brain and change over time may explain why concussions affect people differently, according to a new study published in the journal Brain Imaging and Behavior.

Previous research has shown there are differences between the brains of people who have suffered concussions and people who haven't, but it hadn't been determined if there were differences between the brains of concussion patients.

Different areas of the brain are affected in each individual because of differences in anatomy, vulnerability to injury and mechanism of injury according to the author of the study, Dr. Michael Lipton.

Using a special type of software to analyze the brain images, the researchers found that concussion patients have unique patterns of abnormalities in different brain regions and that the abnormalities change over time.

Hopefully, this new technique will permit better assessment of patients who have sustained a conduction and  predict which head injuries are likely to have long-term neurological effects and evaluate the effectiveness of treatments.

For brain injury attorneys, this exciting technology opens up new ways to objectively show juries that a brain injury has taken place and the consequences of this brain damage.