There has been a lot of attention in the media lately to brain injuries ranging from concussions or MTBI, to serious traumatic head and brain injuries known as TBI. And this is for good reason.
As a San Francisco injury attorney who handles brain injuries, I have witnessed first hand the impact and consequences brain injuries can have on an individual and his or her family.
Recently, much attention has been given to athletes, specifically football players, who suffer concussions also known as MTBI or Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries.
Here are a few facts about head injuries according to the CDC and a series regarding brain injuries published by the New York Times.
Despite what is popularly believed, the head does not need to strike an object or to be struck by an object for an injury victim to suffer a concussion. In fact, normally no swelling or bleeding is seen on radiological scans. A concussion or head injury often takes place due to either a rapid acceleration and rapid stopping of the head (also known as a whiplash), or when the head is spun quickly. In either case, a violent shaking of the brain occurs.
When the brain is shook in this manner, brain cells fire rapidly and the brain is flooded with chemicals. This can result in memory loss, nausea and vomiting, blurred vision, and even unconsciousness. Further damage to the brain can be done as the brain bounces off the walls of the skull that hold it in place.
Suffering a concussion or head injury can increase a persons likeliness to suffer another and decrease the amount of force necessary to cause a second concussion.
A study of former NFL players conducted in 2000 found that 60% had suffered at least one MTBI or concussion during their careers and 26% reported three or more. The 60% that reported having suffered at least one concussion during their careers also reported a higher number of problems with concentration, memory, and headaches.
A recent study commissioned by the NFL has found that professional football players are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, or similar memory related problems, at a rate 19 times higher than other men ages 30 through 49.
These studies and the attention being paid to athletes who suffer head injuries is welcomed and should be encouraged. However, injury attorneys, like myself, have been dealing with and trying to help injury victims that suffer from MTBI, concussions, or head injuries for a long time.
For years personal injury victims that alleged MTBI or concussion symptoms and complications were seen as malingerers or suffering from secondary gain. Personal injury attorneys have watched lives fall apart as insurance companies refused to properly evaluate clear liability cases because the radiological scans were negative for brain lesions.
More research needs to be done and more people need to be educated about the causes and impact of brain injuries. But the new studies commissioned by the NFL, the steps that the NFL is now taking to deal with head injuries, and the attention the media is giving these serious and traumatic injuries is welcomed and applauded.
