The Minnesota Concussion Injury Lawyers at the Schmidt Salita Law Team offer this helpful information regarding concussion injuries:

CONCUSSIONS ARE THE “SILENT EPIDEMIC”, THE “INVISIBLE INJURY”. A MAJOR WORLDWIDE HEALTH PROBLEM.

Concussions are not “minor” injuries-1986 alert.

As far back as 1986, the National Head Injury Foundation, in its publication Minor Head Injury: An Introduction for Professionals, called attention to the “ignored end of the head trauma spectrum: minor head injury”, calling out “gross ignorance and neglect” in the understanding and appreciation of concussion injuries.

The message was directed to the medical and health care community, namely all professionals who deal with ‘mildly’ head injured persons”. It0’s goal was to “increase awareness and sensitivity in a difficult medical/psychological/rehabilitation area that is fraught with complexity and partial understanding.

The 2003 Alert by the CDC.

Seventeen years later, in 2003 the Center for Disease Control’s Report to Congress on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States again attempted to bring awareness of the problem, describing concussion injuries as both silent and invisible:

Traumatic brain injury is frequently referred to as the silent epidemic because the problems that result from it (e.g., impaired memory) often are not visible. Mild traumatic brain injury (M TBI) accounts for at least 75% of all traumatic brain injuries in the United States. However, it is clear that the consequences of mild TBI are often not mild.

Modern Recognition of Concussion Injury Facts.

A review of a large volume of medical research demonstrates that the use of the terms “Silent” and “Invisible” are both appropriate because:

-The signs and symptoms of a concussion can be subtle and not immediately apparent. In many cases, they may not show up immediately (initially invisible). They sometimes do not show up for days, weeks or even months later.  Different symptoms will show up earlier and others later.

-Because many symptoms are subtle or invisible, only a careful assessment and examination is necessary to properly diagnose a concussion injury. That careful examination doesn’t happen in all too many cases.

-Many victims of concussion injuries are not aware of their injury. They cannot be expected to self-diagnose and many cannot even accurately report their symptoms to medical personnel.

– 90% of concussions occur without any frank loss of consciousness. Many victims of concussion are not aware that they have suffered loss of consciousness. When asked, many will inaccurately say that they have not been unconscious when the opposite is true.

-Many concussions occur without a blow to the head. (A blow to the body that causes a “whiplash” force to the brain is sufficient.)

-Many concussions are overlooked because many of the victims don’t seek medical care. (It is estimated that more than half of all concussion victims do not seek immediate medical attention.)  Many more who do seek medical attention are overlooked or wrongful dismissed as unimportant.

-Many of the symptoms of a concussion can be easily dismissed because they are common to other medical conditions.

-Even when the concussion injury is recognized/diagnosed, the patient is improperly dismissed with incorrect advice, i.e. assurance that the condition will spontaneously resolve on its own when, instead, the condition requires careful monitoring over an extended period of time with appropriate treatmentEven after the delayed appearance of symptoms, the symptoms of “post concussion syndrome” can progressively develop over a long time period of months, or years, or an entire lifetime.

-Even in the long term and even after an apparent recovery, many serious symptoms of a concussion injury can continue and be “invisible”, only diagnosed by a specialty-trained traumatic brain injury practitioner.

Today-Concussion Injury as a Chronic Disease-The Silent Epidemic.

Some respected medical authorities now consider concussions to be a chronic “disease” process with life-time disabilities from which there is no recovery.

The Brain Injury Association of America says, “

Because brain injury is so insidious and often goes undetected…it is imperative that public education and awareness about brain injury become a top priority of government, advocacy, and provider organizations.”

Brain injury continues to be the silent epidemic…Definite progress is being made in epidemiological data collection and awareness of the many ways that brain injury costs society.  But there is still much to be done to ensure that persons with brain injury are identified instead of being mislabeled and swept into other populations where their needs are not met.

For more information about concussion injuries, go to www.concussioninjury.com.

Minnesota Concussion Injury Lawyers.

The Minnesota Concussion Injury Lawyers at the Schmidt Salita Law Team have over 70 years experience in bringing justice to the victims of concussion injuries and traumatic brain injuries.  Their staff includes lawyers and legal assistants that are trained and experienced in providing legal and lay counseling to the victims of the many overlooked and ignored concussion injury cases.

 

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.