Category Archives: Brain Injury Treatment

It is estimated that 1,000 people die every week from traumatic brain injuries in the United States. But if you suffer a severe brain injury in Arizona, the National Institutes of Health say you will likely receive the best emergency services treatment available in the country. The National Institutes of Health chose Arizona as the only state to evaluate the national standards for prehospital emergency care of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). With Arizonas Excellence in Prehospital Injury Care (EPIC) project. Nearly 100 fire departments and ground/air ambulance companies have been trained in the national standards, covering more than 80 percent of the population. Those agencies send treatment information to the Arizona Department of Health Services and The University of Arizona College of Medicine for tracking and evaluation. The EPIC partnership across the state is allowing the implementation and evaluation of state-of-the-art treatment at the scene of an accident and is tracking how EMS care impacts the final outcome of patients, said Dr. Daniel Spaite, Professor of Emergency Medicine at The University of Arizona College of Medicine. We know that treatment decisions immediately after a severe brain injury are critical. That response, in the first few minutes after TBI, may have … Continue reading →

Jan. 10, 2013 Repeat traumatic brain injury affects a subgroup of the 3.5 million people who suffer head trauma each year. Even a mild repeat TBI that occurs when the brain is still recovering from an initial injury can result in poorer outcomes, especially in children and young adults. A metabolic marker that could serve as the basis for new mild TBI vulnerability guidelines is described in an article in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. In an Editorial, "The Window of Risk in Repeated Head Injury," accompanying this article, John T. Povlishock, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Neurotrauma and Professor, VCU Neuroscience Center, Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, states that recent studies of TBI in animal models have shown that while repeat injury can exacerbate structural, functional, metabolic, and behavioral responses, "these responses only occur when the injury is repeated within a specific time frame post-injury." "Specifically, this window of risk is greatest when the interval between injuries is short, hours to days, while any risk for increased damage is obviated when the intervals between injuries are elongated over days to weeks," says Dr. Povlishock. It is not yet clear if these time … Continue reading →

A new study sponsored by Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York shows that having a traumatic brain injury does not place victims at greater risk for late-life dementia, but does increase risk of re-injury. John Demas of Demas Law Group, a Sacramento personal injury attorney, discusses the implications of these findings for those who have suffered traumatic brain injuries in accidents. Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) January 09, 2013 The studys senior author noted that many people who suffer traumatic brain injury at a young age fear that they will develop mental problems when they are older. However, the study found no link to dementia or other degenerative brain disorders in those who had suffered brain trauma. However, the study did find that, among the 4,000 adults whose records were reviewed, a traumatic brain injury was more common in those who later died of other causes. They also found the highest statistical relationship between those who sustained a traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness after age 55 and re-injury. In fact, the risk of re-injury doubled for those who sustained a TBI before the age of 25 and was four times greater for those who were injured after age 55. … Continue reading →

A man who ended up with a brain injury after being held in police cells here and who now requires full time care will not face any criminal charges. Although RCMP officers wanted Robert Wright charged after he was arrested for impaired driving last year, a government lawyer concluded there was no substantial likelihood of conviction given the level of force used by RCMP officers against Wright and because of injuries he suffered. Wright was arrested April 21, 2012 after Terrace RCMP officers responded to reports of a possible impaired driver. While in police custody, Wright, then 47, was injured and after being taken to the local hospital three times during the night, was taken to the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster for intensive treatment. Police subsequently recommended charges of impaired operation of a motor vehicle, refusing to provide a breath sample and obstructing a peace officer. A provincial lawyer then looked at evidence from the roadside when Wright was first stopped in his vehicle, evidence from his subsequent arrival at the Terrace RCMP detachment and interaction with police while in custody and evidence of his mental and physical condition before and after he was taken to hospital for … Continue reading →

Pleasantville, New York (PRWEB) January 09, 2013 New York traumatic brain injury (TBI) attorney Shana De Caro has been chosen to moderate the annual educational program of the Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group (TBILG) of the American Association for Justice at its meeting to be held in San Francisco, California in July 2013. The all day program features attorneys discussing the latest developments in the law affecting TBI victims and updates in medical issues pertaining to traumatic brain damage. The national litigation group comprises attorneys throughout the country who represent individuals who have sustained traumatic brain injuries. The groups purpose is to provide lawyers with cutting edge education on the latest medical and legal issues in the litigation of a traumatic brain injury case. Each year the group presents an educational program at the American Association for Justice Conference. De Caro has been recognized by her peers as a leading attorney in representing victims of brain injury caused by automobile accidents, bus and truck accidents, work site injuries, unsafe buildings, and medical or hospital malpractice. She is the lead author of a leading treatise on NeuroLaw published by Psychiatric Clinics of North America and a contributor to the New York … Continue reading →

SHEBOYGAN, WI--(Marketwire - January 07, 2013) - According to statistics provided by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1.7 million people suffer some form of traumatic brain injury every year in the United States.Given this number of people who are affected by this injury, TBI Voices exists and is continually updated as a resource for those who need help obtaining some perspective on the challenges that are faced by people who are fighting to overcome traumatic brain injuries.TBI Voices has published an interview on its Web site that features Craig, a man who survived a traumatic brain injury and whose marriage suffered as a result of mistakes made by medical professionals after the incident. Specifically, this interview of Craig can be found on the TBI Voices Web site at the URL of http://tbilaw.com/tbivoices/craig-marital-help-fell-thru-cracks-after-tbi/.This interview shows how Craig survived a traumatic brain injury and how he immediately began to endure marital difficulties with his wife as he entered the recovery phase of his life.These struggles included regular and intense arguments and other problems that included Craig keeping his wife up at night as he attempted to recapture memories and skills that he had lost as a … Continue reading →

Washington, January 6 (ANI): Researchers studying the long-term consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI) using rat models, have found that, overtime, TBI results in progressive brain deterioration characterized by elevated inflammation and suppressed cell regeneration. However, therapeutic intervention, even in the chronic stage of TBI, may still help prevent cell death. "In the U.S., an estimated 1.7 million people suffer from traumatic brain injury," Dr. Cesar V. Borlongan from the University of South Florida (USF) said. "In addition, TBI is responsible for 52,000 early deaths, accounts for 30 percent of all injury-related deaths, and costs approximately $52 billion yearly to treat," he said. While TBI is generally considered an acute injury, secondary cell death caused by neuroinflammation and an impaired repair mechanism accompany the injury over time, said the authors. Long-term neurological deficits from TBI related to inflammation may cause more severe secondary injuries and predispose long-term survivors to age-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and post-traumatic dementia. Since the U.S. military has been involved in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the incidence of traumatic brain injury suffered by troops has increased dramatically, primarily from improvised explosive devices (IEDs), according to Martin Steele, Lieutenant General, U.S. Marine … Continue reading →

By Jerome Aning Philippine Daily Inquirer MANILA, PhilippinesA woman-doctors 17-year demand for P100 million in damages from a Makati City hotel for a recurring brain injury she allegedly suffered through the years after she hit her head inside the hotel has ended after the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed her claim for lack of merit. The high courts Second Division threw out Dr. Genevieve Huangs appeal on the earlier rulings of the Court of Appeals and the Makati Regional Trial Court which both dismissed her claim for damages for lack of merit in 2006 and 2007, respectively. This court examined the records, including the transcripts of stenographic notes, and found no reason to disturb the factual findings of both lower courts. This court, thus, upholds their conclusiveness, the high tribunal said in the decision penned by Justice Jose Perez. Justices Arturo Brion, Presbitero Velasco Jr., Martin Villarama Jr. and Estela Perlas-Bernade concurred in the decision. In August 1996, Huang filed a complaint for damages in the Makati Regional Trial Court against Dusit Thanis owners, Philippine Hoteliers Inc. and Dusit Thani Public Co. Ltd, as well as the hotels insurer, First Lepanto Taisho Insurance Corp. Court records showed that in June 1995, … Continue reading →

By Kim Walter MIDDLETOWN -- Friday's state budget hearing shed light on several topics that concern area residents, including services and treatment for individuals who have suffered a traumatic brain injury. A $2.5 million proposal for the upcoming state budget would provide funding to maintain operations of ten state-funded brain injury programs, create a data collection system and conduct brain injury outreach and counseling services. "Recovery from a brain injury requires long-term community support, and services such as case management, information and referral, clubhouse programs and day support programs," said Jill James, who has worked in human services throughout the valley. James recently started working more with people who had suffered brain injuries, and said she noticed quickly the lack of services available to them in the area. "It was shocking," she said. "I guess some of it is because it can be an invisible injury ... you can't always see it right away, but it affects so many parts of the person." James told the panel of representatives that TBI is a contributing factor to a third of all injury-related deaths in the United States. "And it doesn't discriminate," she said. "Brain injuries can happen to anyone, at any … Continue reading →

A U.S. brain-injury treatment center has filed for bankruptcy following reports of abuse and neglect of patients by their caregivers. The Florida Institute for Neurologic Rehabilitation Inc. and three affiliated corporations filed Chapter 11 petitions in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in in Tampa yesterday. They said in court filings that they estimated they owe between $3 million and $30 million to 103 to 346 creditors and that their assets total $150,000 or less. The bankruptcy action came on the same day that a unit of Regions Financial Corp. (RF) sued the institute, known as FINR, claiming it defaulted on $31 million in real-estate loans. Birmingham, Alabama-based Regions Bank said in its lawsuit that patients welfare is at risk because of financial problems and mismanagement at the rehabilitation center in Wauchula, about 50 miles southeast of Tampa. Florida officials in August ordered FINR to move about 50 patients to other facilities. The center has been fighting the directive, issued after a Bloomberg News story revealed a history of violence there. Caregivers beat patients and goaded them to fight each other and fondle female employees, according to reports by state officials released to Bloomberg. The list of creditors in the bankruptcy filings includes … Continue reading →