MINNEAPOLIS CONCUSSION INJURY LAWYER-NEW CONCUSSION INJURY DATA FROM BRAIN INJURY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA.
Minneapolis Car Accident Lawyers at the Schmidt Salita Law Team know that car accidents are a leading cause of concussion injuries. The Essential Brain Injury Guide recently published by the Brain Injury Association of America in 2016 recognized that fact.
The Minneapolis Concussion Injury Lawyers call to your attention the new “block buster” publication of the Brain Injury Association of America, published in 2016. The text is entitled The Essential Brain Injury Guide and is intended as a teaching guide for Medical Doctors studying to become certified as Brain Injury Specialists by the American Academy of Certified Brain Injury Specialists.
IMPORTANT CONCUSSION INJURY FACTS
- Concussion is the “silent epidemic” with many cases being overlooked. Because concussion is not always understood as a brain injury, it is frequently not diagnosed or is under-diagnosed and subsequent problems that a person may have are not always associated with having a concussion. Most mild TBIs are not even treated in a hospital or an emergency department. Unfortunately, we are unable to obtain an exact count of the number of people that sustain TBIs but receive no care.
- Concussion frequently occurs without a loss of consciousness. Some studies estimate that mild TBIs result in LOC in only 8.9% of sports-related TBIs.
- Initial injury assessment cannot predict long-term outcome. Primary injury information alone does not provide the full knowledge needed to…predict long-term outcome. Once the primary injury is inflicted, a cascade of pathophysiological events occurs, collectively termed secondary injury… it is the secondary injury that presents the possibility of injury attenuation.
- Secondary injury is a major factor. “Secondary injury” is the continued process of evolvement of the injury which continues past the initial acute phase. Secondary injury aspects involve an “injury process” that “extends past the point in time of the initial injury as these delayed effects cause additional cellular injury or cell death and further exacerbate the effects of the injury by extending the amount of damage to the brain.” These aspects include hypoxia, anemia, metabolic abnormalities, hydrocephalus, intracranial hypertension, and hemorrhagic activity. Other delayed effects include the release of excitatory amino acids, oxidative free-radical production, release of arachidonic acid metabolites (which impacts the inflammatory response), and the disruption of neurotransmitters like monoamines and serotonin.
- Victims of multiple mild brain injuries have a greater risk of developing poor outcomes than a person with a single mild brain injury. It has been estimated that, after incurring a first TBI, the risk for a second TBI is three times greater; when an individual sustains a second TBI, the risk for another TBI is eight times higher.
- TBI injury involves a chronic process. “TBI is not an event or a final outcome; rather it is the beginning of a chronic process.” * TB impacts multiple organ systems and can both cause disease and accelerate the disease. Despite the fact that persons with a TBI who survive the acute event do not die of their brain injury per se, a TBI is a chronic progressive condition.
- Overall, individuals with TBI have a life expectancy reduction of 7 years and are 1.5 times more likely to die as compared to un-injured individuals.
- Individuals surviving TBI more than one year with a TBI are at significant risk for the development of major health problems, including:
- 37 times more likely to die from seizures,
- 12 times from septicemia,
- 4 times from pneumonia, and
- 3 times from respiratory conditions;
- 2 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease and non-Alzheimers dementia.
- Fatigue is a major symptoms of TBI. p. 22 Subjective complaints of sleep disturbances have been reported in 70% of TBI outpatients. Excessive sleepiness is associated with decreased cognition and decreased productivity, and certainly with a greater risk for accidents.
- Psychiatric and psychological deficits are among the most disabling consequences of a TBI. Many people with a mild TBI, and the overwhelming majority of those who survive a moderate-to-severe TBI are left with significant long-term neurobehavioral sequelae. In addition to the aggression, confusion, and agitation seen in the acute stages, a TBI is associated with an increased risk of developing obsessive-compulsive disorders, mood disorders, anxiety, and major depression.
MINNEAPOLIS CONCUSSION INJURY LAWYERS
The Minneapolis Concussion Injury Lawyers at the Schmidt Salita Law Team are experienced in representing the victims of concussion injuries and traumatic brain injuries.
Senior trial lawyer Douglas Schmidt is a nationally recognized specialist in concussion injuries and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). He is the author of a publication entitled “Overlooked Concussion Injuries in Non-sporting Events”. He recently served as one of the keynote speakers in the National Online Brain Injury Summit, discussing the legal rights of concussion injury victims. He recently lectured the North Dakota Trial Lawyers Association on the subject of Overlooked Concussion Injuries.
CONCUSSION INJURY AND TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY RESOURCES
The Concussion Injury Lawyers at the Schmidt Salita Law Team recommend the following resources that will provide additional information about concussion injuries and traumatic brain injuries:
http://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/
https://medlineplus.gov/traumaticbraininjury.html
http://www.traumaticbraininjury.com/understanding-tbi/what-is-traumatic-brain-injury/
https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/traumatic-brain-injury/basics/definition/con-20029302
Courage Center (Courage Kenny): www.allinahealth.org/Health-Conditions-and-Treatments/Neurology/Concussions-in-sports
Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance: www.braininjurymn.org
Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayo.edu/research/centers-programs/traumatic-brain-injury-program/overview
https://www.brainline.org/tbi-basics
https://www.brainline.org/landing_pages/categories/concussion.html
http://www.healthline.com/health/concussion
https://www.brainline.org/article/get-stats-traumatic-brain-injury-united-states-2002%E2%80%942006
https://www.brainline.org/headlines
The Schmidt Salita Law Team Handles a Wide Variety of Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Claims.
The Schmidt Salita Law Team handles cases involving car accidents, trucking accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian car accidents, and bicycle accidents. It has many years’ experience in workers , products liability and medical malpractice cases.
The Schmidt Salita Law Team has extensive experience with concussion injuries, traumatic brain injuries, neck and back injuries, whiplash injuries, broken bones, injured joint injuries (knee, hip, shoulder, wrist, ankle, spinal), amputation injuries, and vision and eye injuries.
The Schmidt Salita Law Team has offices through out the State of Minnesota. Its primary location is at Ridgedale Office Center in Minnetonka, near the intersection of I394 and I494. The offices are ground level, handicap accessible with ample parking.
The Schmidt Salita Team Offers Contingent Fee Arrangements.
The firm offers contingent fee agreements (You don’t pay lawyers fees until you collect and then only as a percentage of the settlement). It also offers home and hospital visits to clients whose injuries present difficulty in coming to the office.
“PERSONAL INJURY WITH PERSONAL ATTENTION TO EACH CASE”.
The Schmidt Salita Law Team has locations throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as Minnetonka, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Osseo, Anoka, Coon Rapids, Brooklyn Center, Fridley, Blaine, Shoreview, Woodbury, Falcon Heights, Columbia Park, Stillwater, Hastings, Inver Grove, Cottage Grove, South St. Paul, Apple Valley, Eagan, Burnsville, Savage, Shakopee, Richfield, Bloomington, Chaska, Chanhassen, Edina, Eden Prairie, and Hopkins.