Blog: Brain Injury

Does your motorcycle helmet meet safety standards?

Jun 28, 2016

While not all state laws require motorcyclists to wear a helmet, doing so can provide riders an essential layer of protection in the event of a crash. Not all helmets provide adequate protection, however. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) requires that all motorcycle helmets sold in the United States meet the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS). But some riders wear helmets that don’t meet the standard set by the DOT. These helmets function...

Brain metabolism a predictor of capacity to recover

May 27, 2016

Historically, it has been difficult for even doctors to predict to what degree patients who had suffered severe head trauma would be able to recover consciousness. Now, however, researchers have determined that the rate at which an injured person's brain consumes glucose (metabolism) can predict if that person will regain consciousness within the years. The study's findings could help inform the prognosis of brain injury patients in the context of personal injury law suits, making...

Domestic abuse can cause traumatic brain injury

May 6, 2016

Being in combat, football collisions and motorcycle crashes are by now well-known causes of traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Because of this, often the face of traumatic brain injuries is one of a man. But researchers are giving more attention to brain injury in survivors of domestic abuse. These survivors, in large part, are women, but not always. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men...

How long do I have to file a lawsuit for a brain injury?

Apr 5, 2016

The answer depends in part on when the accident happened and at what point you may have had reason to believe that you had been injured. In if you are injured in an accident, you have two years from the time of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. The exception to this is when you didn't realize until later that you had been injured. In this situation, the "discovery rule" would apply. That...

Woman sues for foul ball that hit her in the head

Mar 14, 2016

A woman who was hit in the back of the head by a foul ball last year at a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game is suing the Pirates, Major League Baseball and the Sports & Exhibition Authority for $35,000 each in a civil lawsuit. The woman, Wendy Camlin, was walking back to her seat on instructions from an usher when a foul ball rocketed backwards, pushing into safety netting and hitting her in the back of...

Brain scans gain favor in the courtroom

Mar 3, 2016

As the connections between brain injury and aggression grow, it seems that lawyers are increasingly using brain scans as evidence in criminal trials. This tactic is generally used to secure a reduced sentence by way of proving that a client wasn’t entirely responsible for his or her behavior. One study cited in a recent issue of The Atlantic found that judicial opinions that cited brain scans as evidence doubled between 2005 and 2012. Brain scans...

Traumatic brain injury recovery can be unpredictable

Jan 27, 2016

If you or someone you love has suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI), you may understandably have questions and anxiety about the extent of recovery that may be possible. Unfortunately it's difficult to predict exactly to what extent a person may recover from a serious brain injury. In general, the more serious the injury, the more difficult the recovery will be. A person's age and health before the injury will also affect the degree to...

Pennsylvania athletes file lawsuit for concussions

Dec 23, 2015

Two former students from Neshannock High School in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and the father of a senior athlete from Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), alleging that the organization did little to protect students against sports-related brain injuries, and did little to help them once they did receive such injuries. The PIAA is fighting back, claiming that according to the 2012 Youth in Sports Safety Act, schools...

Lawsuits tackle football-related brain injuries

Dec 10, 2015

The link between football and concussions and other traumatic brain injuries (TBI) is becoming better known, with media increasing its coverage of the issue of late. The repeated concussions that many players endure on the field can add up to a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which can cause memory loss, depression, difficulty controlling impulses and even dementia. In some cases, the condition may have even contributed to former players committing suicide. But can...

Pedestrian accident victim dies 50 years later of severe injuries

Sep 3, 2015

Most of our readers were not yet born when an 8-year-old Pennsylvania boy was hit by a car on July 8, 1965. The day after the pedestrian accident, the Allentown newspaper reported that the boy hospitalized in critical condition had suffered broken legs, cuts and bruises — as well as massive head injuries. The severe brain trauma he suffered that day resulted in quadriplegia for the boy. Fifty years later, he was still being treated...