Personal Injury Law Update

Minor accidents can lead to traumatic brain injuries

After learning of the tragic death of actress, Natasha Richardson of a traumatic brain injury, it has brought to our attention the dangers of what neuroscientists and surgeons call the "talk and die" syndrome. What may seem like a minor head injury can unexpectedly turn into a more serious situation than first realized.

"It's very common for someone who's had a fall or been in a car accident to appear perfectly lucid just after the impact but then to suddenly, rapidly deteriorate," stated Dr. Carmelo Graffagnino, director of Duke University Medical Center's Neurosciences Critical Care Unit in an article recently posted on CNN.com.

"A patient can appear so deceivingly normal at first," said Graffagnino," but they actually have a brain bleed and as the pressure builds up, they'll experience classic symptoms of a traumatic brain injury." Because this type of traumatic brain injury can come from even the smallest of falls, it is very important to get checked out by a doctor immediately after a slip and fall, automobile accident or other types of head injuries.

Related Topics: Personal Injury Attorney - Portland, OR, Slip and Fall Lawyer - Portland, OR

New Helmet Designed to Reduce Risk of Spinal Cord Injury in Sports Accidents

Last week the Canadian media reported progress by researchers and engineers at the University of British Columbia designing a new helmet that will reduce the risk of spinal cord injuries in head-first collisions during sports activities. Called the "Pro-Neck-Tor," and designed for sports such as hockey and football, the helmet has an inner shell that will guide the head to tilt slightly forward or backward on impact, and thereby reduce the load on the neck during impact. The reduced weight on the neck, in turn, would lower the risk of spinal cord injury from a collision.

Engineers working on the helmet said it is still in the design stages and, depending on how fast testing progresses, could take between three to 10 years to become available commercially in the sporting goods market. Researchers anticipate that the helmet would be marketed first to hockey players due to the relatively higher incidence of spinal cord injuries suffered by players in that sport.

Scruntiny of Concussion Risk From Football Grows

As the football playoffs get underway, it behooves us to take note of the increasing publicity surrounding concussion injury among football players.

Researchers from the University of Nortah Carolina released the results of a groundbreaking study of concussion risk among football players in the December 2007 issue of Neurosurgery. The researchers had outfitted college football players’ helmets with devices designed to measure the speed, direction and force with which they hit their heads while playing. Researchers recorded 104,714 total impacts over the course of five seasons. Players suspected of having sustained a concussion were examined. The researchers concluded there is no way to know for sure which blows will lead to a concussion, and that even minor impacts such as during a practice may cause a concussion. See further details here.

The obvious lesson for athletes playing football or any other sport (such as hockey) where impact to the head is common is to take symptoms of concussion -- dizziness, lethargy, slurred speech -- seriously, and postpone return to play until appropriate neuropsychological and other testing has determined that it is safe to return to play.