Item: Flaxman Law Group
Rating: 5
Author: Clara Barman

Head Injuries Are Not Always Dramatic

Published on: March 6, 2009 | By Flaxman Law Group

Brain injuries – whether caused by car accidents, boating accidents, pedestrian accidents, or other incidents – can be serious or mild. Some people sustain trauma to the head and experience nothing more serious than a brief bump. Others find that brain injury leads to permanent injury or even death. Obviously, the force of impact is an important indicator of how serious an injury is. The place where impact takes place can also determine the severity of a head injury – blunt force to the temples, for example, very often leads to serious injury or fatalities.

To make matters more confusing, some brain injury victims seem perfectly fine after a head injury. Some walk away from an accident, thinking that there is nothing wrong and are later rushed to the hospital with a serious brain injury. Just because a brain injury is not dramatic, that does not make it a minor or insignificant injury.

Determining whether a brain injury is serious or not is difficult. It is useful to know the symptoms of a concussion. These symptoms include:

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Florida Nets $2.25M Grant For Traumatic Brain Injury Research

Published on: October 10, 2008 | By Flaxman Law Group

Researchers believe that Florida brain injury patients – and patients across the country who have sustained traumatic brain injury due to car accidents, workplace accidents, and other causes – may have a cause to celebrate. The National Institutes of Health haw awarded Orlando Health a $2.25 million grant. The grant is specifically earmarked for traumatic brain injury research.

The grant recipient and lead researcher at Orlando Regional Medical Center, Dr. Linda Papa, plans to use the money to develop more effective tools to diagnose brain injuries. According to Papa, about 90% of the roughly 2 million Americans who sustain a traumatic brain injury yearly sustain either a mild or moderate brain injury. In some instances, diagnosing these injuries is challenging for health care professionals.

Papa’s study will begin in 2008 and will try to create blood test that will help doctors evaluate biomarkers in the blood. Biomarkers are released by the brain during brain injury and Papa and her team believe they may be able to devise a test that not only helps to indicate brain trauma but could also potentially help tell doctors the seriousness of a traumatic brain injury. If successful, the test would help doctors select better treatment options for patients.

The research into this issue is badly needed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 5.3 million people in the US currently live with brain injury-related disabilities. Almost 50,000 people die each year in the US due to brain injuries. Many people who suffer from a brain injury face life challenges such as suicide, depression, divorce, unemployment, substance abuse and other problems.

The difficult thing about traumatic brain injury is that many forms of brain injury can be avoided. Careful driving on the road, for example, can reduce the car accidents that lead to brain injuries. Careful evaluation of water depth before diving can help prevent not only brain injuries but also the spinal cord injuries that occur each year when swimmers dive into water that proves too shallow.

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After You Have Been Released From the Hospital Following a Brain Injury

Published on: April 14, 2008 | By Flaxman Law Group

If you have sustained a head or brain injury – even if it is a minor one – it is important to visit the nearest emergency room for evaluation. Sometimes, even seemingly minor injuries can mean big problems later. If your injury has occurred as a result of a workplace accident, aviation accident, boating accident, car accident, or some other situation in which others were involved, visiting an emergency room starts the process of documenting your injuries. If you need insurance or compensation later, this documentation will be invaluable. Without it, you may end up paying all your injury-related costs out of your own pocket.

Once you are released from the hospital, you need to continue to evaluate your condition. Unfortunately, many medical malpractice cases in Florida and across the country are the result of errors in the emergency room. A physician may release you before you are ready, causing more injury.

After your injury, you may not be able to remember the events that led up to your head injury or you may feel more easily tired that is usual for you. Your may experience some trouble concentrating or you may suffer from dizziness or headaches. You may have trouble performing simple tasks or you may experience mood changes. If any of these symptoms occur suddenly or seem severe, seek medical treatment right away. Be sure to tell your doctor about all the symptoms you are experiencing. If symptoms last more than a few days, seek medical help right away.

If you experience vomiting, sever headaches, memory problems, blackouts, spasms or seizure, neck stiffness, vision problems, dizziness, confusion, slurred speech, or unusual behavior, seek emergency help right away, even if you have already been checked by a physician. Similarly, if you are having trouble staying awake or have blood or fluid coming from your ears or nose, go to the nearest emergency room. If you have tingling, numbness, weakness, or pins and needles in your limbs, visit the emergency room. All these symptoms can be a sign of problems and should be evaluated right away.

It is important not to return to normal activities – especially sports and physical labor – until you have recovered completely from a brain injury. This is because your thinking and reaction times are slower after this sort of injury, making a second injury more likely. If it is taking you some time to recover from a brain injury, be sure to seek a doctor’s help. If you feel that your doctor is not attentive to worrying symptoms, seek a second opinion.

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Taking Care of a Head Injury at Home

Published on: April 11, 2008 | By Flaxman Law Group

The brain is a soft organ, protected by the facial bones and skull. Unfortunately, the protective covering of the brain can become a problem in the event of an aviation accident, sporting injury, car accident, or other situation in which a knock to the head or a sudden jolt causes the brain to move around and hit the hard bone surfaces. In these cases, the brain can swell and bleed, leading to brain injury.

Brain injuries occur to many victims each year in Florida and across the country. If you suffer a brain injury – even a seemingly minor injury such as a mild concussion – it is important to seek help right away. Concussions are the most common type of head injury, but even these common injuries can cause memory loss, pain, and other problems.

Any time you or a loved one sustains a head injury – even a seemingly minor one – it is important to seek medical attention right away. This is important because it is hard to evaluate the seriousness of this type of injury. When you visit the emergency department of a hospital for your injury, you can expect that you will be placed under observation and given painkillers if you are in pain or tablets for any nausea or vomiting you may be experiencing. You may be given an x-ray or a CT scan to help doctors diagnose your injuries.

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Are Florida High School Athletes At Risk for Brain Injuries

Published on: December 12, 2007 | By Flaxman Law Group

A study published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine finds that the number of traumatic head injuries among high school football athletes is much higher than the number of the same personal injuries in college football. The study also find that high school players who sustain brain injuries such as concussions often return to the game too soon, often playing with the residual effects of their first injury, a choice that researchers point out is extremely dangerous. Florida parents should be wary: with more days of sunny weather, there are simply more options for Florida high school athletes to keep playing, which can spell trouble.

The study found that football-related brain trauma has decreased over generations, mostly due to better gear. In the 1950s and 1960s, football players in both college and high school were at much greater risk for brain injury than they are today, the study found.

The problem, the study concluded, is that some high school football player return to the field even while experiencing neurological symptoms. Researchers found that there is one severe football head injury for every 150,000 high school football players, which is about seven catastrophic head injuries every year. Researchers uncovered that high school players have over triple the risk of catastrophic head trauma when compared to college players. While high school football players suffered 0.67 such injuries per 100,000 players, college athletes sustained only 0.21 injuries per 100,000 players.

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Understanding The Types Of Brain Injury

Published on: December 5, 2007 | By Flaxman Law Group

In Florida and across the country, brain injuries occur every day. As a result of slip and fall accidents, car accidents, construction accidents, industrial accidents, and other types of unfortunate events, brain injuries affect thousands of victims every year. Just as each individual is different, so too, the ways that the brain reacts to injury vary. In general, brain injuries can be divided into various types:

*Traumatic brain injuries. These types of injuries occur when an outside force impacts the head in such a powerful way that the brain moves within the skull. Since the brain is made up of soft tissue, when the brain impacts against the inside of the skull, damage can occur. In addition, traumatic brain injury can also occur when an outside force impacts the head strongly enough to crack the skull and directly injure the brain. These types of brain injuries are often the result of physical violence, firearms, car accidents, falls, and other serious injuries.

*Shaken baby syndrome. In this type of brain injury, the head is shaken so hard that the brain moves rapidly back and forth, damaging brain tissue and ripping apart the fibers. Although physical violence is most often the cause, adults can get this injury too, often as a result of violence or car accidents. This type of injury is also considered a traumatic brain injury.

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Preventing Florida Dog Bites – One Step at a Time

Published on: December 1, 2007 | By Flaxman Law Group

Dog bites tend to be the most common types of animal attacks, in part because so many people in Florida and across the country own dogs as pets. Whether you want to reduce the risk of being bitten by your own dog or by someone else’s pet, be sure to follow these steps for increasing your personal safety:

1) Do not disturb a dog when it is more likely to bite. A dog that is sleeping, caring for puppies, or eating is more likely to bit when disturbed. Teach children not to approach dogs at these times.

2) Avoid running near dogs. A dog’s natural instinct is to chase after and catch things. In addition, most dogs become increasingly aggressive or excited when they are running after someone or something they cannot catch. If a dog chases after you and catches you, they may bite to try to show that they have caught you.

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Symptoms Of Traumatic Brain Injury

Published on: November 21, 2007 | By Flaxman Law Group

Someone who has sustained an impact to the head, as a result of a slip and fall accident, for example, or as a result of a car accident or construction site accident, may be in danger of experiencing traumatic brain injury. In this type of injury, the brain has impacted against the inside of the skull so hard that brain damage has resulted. In some cases, the skull has actually split open and the brain has become damaged as a result of direct impact with an outside force. However, even in cases where someone does not display any obvious symptoms of injury to the head, traumatic brain injury can occur. If you have witnessed an accident in which someone has bumped their head and displays the following symptoms, contact 911 immediately, since this is a medical emergency:

1) Loss of consciousness. 911 should be dialled immediately if the victim loses consciousness. In some cases, it may be impossible to determine whether a victim has lost consciousness or has slipped into a comatose state, so getting an expert medical opinion is a must. However, it is important to note that just because someone remains conscious does not mean that they have not sustained brain injury. In many concussion pieces, a victim remains fully awake and alert at all times.

2) Thin watery liquid coming out of the nose or years. This can actually be spinal fluid leaking from the victim.

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Florida Brain Injury Facts

Published on: November 14, 2007 | By Flaxman Law Group

According to the CDC, brain injuries are most often caused when a jolt or blow to the head causes a mild brain injury known as a concussion. The CDC advises that anyone who has suffered a blow to head to look out for symptoms of a concussion, which can include:

1) Difficulty concentrating, remembering things, or making decisions.

2) Fatigue and headaches

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What to Do if Your Dog Bites Someone

Published on: November 1, 2007 | By Flaxman Law Group

In Florida, dog bites occur every day. If you own a pet, your dog might bite either you or someone else. What you will want to do will depend on whether someone else is involved and on whether the bite can be explained. If your dog has bitten someone else:

1) Remove your dog from the scene of the attack at once. Restrain your pet and confine it.

2) Help the victim of the bite. Even if the bite occurred because the victim was teasing your dog, make sure that the victim seeks medical advice and knows the importance of washing any wounds with soap and water. If the personal injury seems severe, for example if it appears that the victim has suffered brain injury or some other serious injury as a result of the attack, call 911.

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