Two players collided in a softball game that took place on June 18, causing one player a serious brain injury. The brain injury the player suffered led to his death only two days later. The 29 year old man’s family will have a softball tournament in his honor on August 8th. To read the entire article click here “Brain Injury”
A 43 year old woman fell off a golf cart last week and it caused a serious brain injury. The woman had been drinking and standing on the cart, when the cart hit a city street, she fell and landed on her head causing the brain injury. The leading cause of brain injuries are falls. The woman never regained consciousness and her family took her off life support. To read more click here “brain injury”
The National Football League is funding a study of mild traumatic brain injury in retired players. The study will measure the long-term effects of head injuries such as concussions and will also try to prevent future injuries by focusing on safety. Rules for play to prevent brain injuries will be created and enforced. Safety equipment will also be evaluated and redesigned to offer maximum protection against injury. To read the entire article that discusses the NFL’s efforts to battle mild traumatic brain injury, follow the link.
Summer is approaching and with this more people will be traveling and participating in sporting activities. This increase in activity brings with it an increased risk of traumatic brain injury. People became more aware of the seriousness of brain injuries this winter when Natasha Richardson died after a skiing accident. In the hours after her accident, she felt okay, but soon fell into a coma from which she never recovered. Her death highlighted the importance of seeking treatment any time the symptoms of brain injury appear. If you or a loved one suffers a head injury in an accident, watch closely for any symptoms such as nausea, headache, ringing ears or extreme tiredness. It is better to be too cautious when these symptoms occur. You should seek medical treatment sooner, rather than when it’s too late. Additionally, be proactive in preventing head injuries from occurring in the first place. If you are playing a sport or riding a bike or skateboard, wear a helmet. Also, always wear your safety belt to avoid head injuries if you are involved in a car accident. Safe practices and knowledge of the signs and symptoms of brain injuries may help lower the risk for serious injury or death. To read more about the symptoms of brain injury, follow the link.
The Chicago brain injury lawyers at Levin & Perconti recommend that all bicyclists wear helmets for protection against traumatic brain injury. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), it is also very important to wear a properly fitted helmet when preparing to ride. The NHTSA website recommends several things when choosing a helmet. First, choose a helmet that has been tested and approved by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Also, make sure to buy a helmet that fits well before you even adjust the straps. They also recommend buying a helmet that you like, you will be more likely to wear it if you feel good in it. Finally, never wear a helmet that is cracked.
A Dallas-area teenager suffered a severe head injury when he was struck in the head by a baseball hurled from a pitching machine at the local batting cages. The boy was not wearing a helmet. The boy suffered a brain injury which included bruising of his brain and fractured facial bones. Brain injuries, resulting from not wearing helmets in batting cages, have led to deaths in previous instances. The boy is expected to be OK but cannot play baseball for the next six months. To read more about this brain injury, please click here.
An op-ed published by the New York Times draws attention to the fact that people do not know a lot about traumatic brain injury. Until the recent death of actress Natasha Richardson, many people had not realized the devastating effects a brain injury can have upon a person. According to the article, sports facilities where people could have a higher risk for brain injuries do little to educate staff about how to respond to brain injuries. The article also points out the lack of government funding for brain injury research.To read the full article on traumatic brain injury, please follow the link.
Edwin Valero, a Venezuelan lightweight/junior welterweight/welterweight fighter with a record of 24-0, is having trouble getting cleared to fight in the US due to an old brain injury. In 2004, during an pre-fight examination in New York, the fighter was unable to get a license due to this brain injury. To date, the only US jurisdiction which has licensed Valero is TX. To read more about this brain injured fighter, please click here.
Actress Natasha Richardson died yesterday of a traumatic brain injury suffered while skiing in Canada earlier this week. Natasha’s injury is bringing to light a type of brain injury known as epidural hemorrhaging, or talk and die syndrome. Characteristics of this type of brain injury make it hard to diagnose as the victim usually seems symptomless for up to several days before the condition of the victim begins to decline rapidly. To read more about this type of brain injury, please click here.
As more details of the tragic traumatic brain injury suffered by actress Natasha Richardson come to light, the true complexity of diagnosing and treating brain injury victims drawing national media attention. Symptoms of traumatic brain injury sometimes do not manifest until minutes or sometimes hours after the victim suffers a blow to the head. To read more about Natasha Richardson’s condition, please click here.
Actress Natasha Richardson was involved in a serious skiing accident yesterday. She suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the crash. The full extent of her condition is not known at this time, but she is listed in critical condition at a hospital close to the ski resort. Read the full article on the actress’s brain injury by following the link.
A 12 year old boy from Nebraska suffered a traumatic brain injury while playing football. Despite suffering serious injuries to both sides of the brain, the boy has begun walking and eating on his own. Periodically, traumatic brain injuries in sports can result from faulty equipment provided by the athletic league or school district. Details on the cause of the brain injury are unknown at this time. To read more about this brain injury story, please click here.
Tom McHale, a former NFL player who died last year of a drug overdose, was suffering from a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (or CTE). It has been revealed that six of seven former NFL players who died by the age of 50 had this disease, which is caused by repeated head trauma. Symptoms of CTE include losing emotional control and lack of impulse control. To find an Illinois Lawyer practicing in this area, please contact Levin & Perconti. To read more about this brain injury story, please click here.
A study released by the department of neuropsychology at the University of Montreal has revealed that a young adult’s suffering of even one concussion through violent sports such as hockey and football may cause a decline in the ability to retain information and focus as the athlete ages. Brain injury lawsuits can sometimes follow the negligent supervision or faulty equipment provided the student athlete by the school district and coaching staff. To find an Illinois lawyer with experience in brain injury litigation, please contact Levin & Perconti. To read more about the long term effects of concussions on athletes, please click here.
A former high school football player in Chesterfield, IN has filed a lawsuit against the school district claiming the use of a faulty football helmet has led to his brain injury. This head injury lawsuit claims the football coaches were aware the helmet was defective but ordered the player to practice anyway. At this time, the head injury damages sought are unknown. To read more about this head injury story, please click here.
Two days after being declared brain dead, Jayne Campbell Soliman, a former British ice skating champion, gave birth. Mrs. Soliman was kept alive with machines after suffering from a brain hemorrhage in order to give doctors time to perform an emergency caesarian section, removing her baby girl. Swift action and excellent care from her physicians and medical team made this miracle possible. Soliman was air-lifted to the hospital soon after developing the brain injury, where she was pronounced brain dead shortly after arrival.
To read more click here.
An 11-year-old North Carolina boy was left with a permanent brain injury after doctors made numerous medical mistakes during his treatment. After falling from a tree, the boy received treatment riddled with instances of medical malpractice. After detecting a shoulder injury, the boy was given herapin, a blood thinner, to treat a blood clot in his shoulder. The boy’s brachial plexus nerves of his spinal cords had been damaged and that injury had gone unnoticed, and as a result, the herapin caused bleeding in the spinal cord. Additionally, a mass called a subdural hematoma was located in his skull and doctors placed a halo around his head to stabilize his spine. One of the four screws used to keep the halo in place was screwed in ¾ inch too far by a medical resident, which caused further bleeding in the brain. As a result, the child suffered a significant brain injury and will be forced to live with severe cognitive impairments, preventing him from ever living independently or holding a job. A jury ruled in favor of the boy in the medical malpractice lawsuit, awarding him over $10 million from the various defendants. For the full story, click here.
While helmets have come a long way from the leather caps that football players once wore, recent serious brain injuries and wrongful deaths occurring on the football field have people wondering whether helmet technology can ever go far enough. Communities throughout the country have felt the devastation sometimes associated with brain injuries.
For the full article.
TBI Clubhouses are opening around the nation to help support brain injured victims. Brain injuries can occur for a variety of reasons from participation in contact sports to involvement in a car accident or bike accident. Brain injuries leave some victims unable to function or carry out daily tasks to live on their own. Traumatic Brain Injury homes exist to provide support, a social network and medical care to victims of brain injuries. A mother whose son experienced a brain injury after a truck accident has opened a new Midwest clubhouse to provide support to families who struggle similar to herself. Brain injury bills are high whether due to medical expenses or trial expenses and some foundations help in meeting those costs. To read more about this courageous mother’s story click here.
To help reduce athletic concussions, public school officials have begun to take steps to reduce the number of concussions that student athletes suffer. The school district will implement a computerized program that allows coaches and administrators to assess an individual’s baseline and post-brain injury neurocognitive abilities. Concussions are a form of brain injury and any step to reduce their prevalence is a step in the right direction.
For the full article.
According to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate, children aged 5-18 suffer at least 96,000 sports-related brain injuries yearly. As many as twenty percent of all high school football players sustain concussions annually. These brain injuries are especially troubling because teenage brain tissue is still developing. However, most high schools and colleges fail to provide athletes the kind of neuropsychological testing that is needed to assist in their recovery.
For the full article.
The recent injuries suffered by Dominic DiAngi who was hit by a foul ball while watching the Cubs play at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois have brought to public attention some risks of watching baseball. If a fan is struck by an errant ball while at a field, the team while not likely be held legally responsible. Teams are practically immune in almost all cases, so the injured fan will bear the cost of his injuries. Exemplifying this is the mini contract printed on the back of each ticket warning that the holder “assumes all risk and danger incidental to the sport of baseball.” However, the teams are not completely immune, for example, legal precedent requires netting to be placed in front of the most dangerous areas of the stands, but fans are still liable for any balls or bats that make it past that netting. Laws in Illinois in the 1990s emphasized immunity from lawsuits for clubs that do put up netting.
It may seem like a remote possibility that a fan will be injured at a game, but about 300 people a year are hospitalized after receiving injuries from being struck by foul balls at major and minor league games. In 1970, a 14-year-old was killed after being struck in the head by a foul ball. Read more here.
A youth injured at a Chicago, Illinois White Sox Game may face a serious medical surgery. The nine year old was hit by a ball at the game resulting in personal injury and a brain injury. The boy remains optimistic as his family hopes he will recover from the freak accident with ease. Serious injuries are common at sporting events but rarely result in personal injury lawsuits due to the “assumption of risk” doctrine. Suprinsingly the youth still remains a Chicago, Illinois White Sox fan…a result that Cubs fans would say is just another side effect of the personal injury he suffered. To read the full story on this brave little boy click here.
