Minneapolis Brain Injury Lawyer Doug Schmidt has substantially completed his upcoming book entitled “Concussion and Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries–Still In The Dark”. The book explores the huge contradiction between medical research and actual medical practice relating to concussion injuries and mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBIs). It contains a review of the medical research and literature about Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries explained in common sense language.
Doug Schmidt is the senior trial lawyer at the Schmidt Salita Law Team, with over 40 years of experience in bringing justice to the victims of concussion injuries and traumatic brain injuries.
The following is an excerpt from the forward to his upcoming publication:
The author, Douglas E. Schmidt, is a personal injury lawyer with more than 40 years of experience, practicing as a personal injury lawyer. He has limited his practice to the representation of injury victims, excluding the representation of insurance companies. A large part of his practice is in the representation of the victims of motor vehicle collisions. Recently, he has focused on the subject of overlooked concussion injuries in non-sports-related traumatic events
Schmidt’s initial interest developed in his practice of representing the victims of personal injury in motor vehicle collisions and workplace injuries. His interest in that subject was perked by his involvement in youth hockey back in 1997 when he served as President of District 6 Youth Hockey. He became aware that concussion injuries were being overlooked and underappreciated. He worked with a select few people, at that time, were focused on the problem of overlooked concussions in youth sports. Schmidt came into contact with Dr. Michael Stewart of the Sports Medicine Department at Mayo Clinic and others who worked in the development of concussion recognition protocol.
Public recognition of the significance of concussion injuries in sports has developed significantly since then. However, the public recognition of concussion and Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries remains in the dark ages. Schmidt’s interest in concussion injuries has intensified and has focused on the subject of “Overlooked Concussion Injuries-Still In the Dark!”
Since then, Schmidt has lectured extensively to other lawyers, medical doctors, and chiropractors on the subject. Schmidt has now collected his experiences, knowledge, and research into this informational document.
Schmidt offers the following personal note:
I have been working closely with the victims of personal injury for more than 40 years. Since I first began, there have been many changes. No such change has been so dramatic as the change in the recognition of the significance of concussion injuries/mild traumatic brain injuries.
During those 40-some years, it has been apparent that the medical world has been ignoring the many serious and permanent consequences that result from concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries.
In the last 5 years, I have been blessed to be associated with highly trained medical specialists in cases where mild traumatic brain injuries were initially overlooked, but the clients had suffered significant permanent disability-disability which was later confirmed by these highly respected medical specialists.
This experience led me to delve into the medical literature in an attempt to understand this huge dichotomy. The result of that research was shocking. I discovered that respected medical research recognizes that concussion injuries are a huge medical problem while the medical community in daily practice is ignoring it with an apparent lack of understanding and appreciation of the magnitude of the problem. Simply stated, “It’s all there in the medical research, i.e. understanding and appreciation of the significance of concussion injuries. It’s not there in day-to-day medical practice. There is a night-and-day difference between the medical literature and the day-to-day medical practice.”
The world has only come partially out of the “dark ages” regarding concussion injuries. We have recently come to accept the magnitude of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in professional football players. That is true even though the research has been there, but largely ignored, for 30 years.
As a society at large, we have come to accept the magnitude of the consequences of concussion injuries in professional sports. We are starting to appreciate the problem in college sports and even into youth sports. Yet, our society, including specifically our medical community, remains largely in the dark, with almost callous disregard for the severity of the problem of concussion injuries in both sports-related and non-sports related concussion injuries.
As documented in this text, the existence of the many significant concussion/MTBIs resulting from non-sporting traumatic events, including motor vehicle collisions, workplace injuries, slip and fall injuries, and other non-sporting traumas has long been denied. The psychological damage to the victims is huge. Concussion injuries are routinely overlooked and denied. When the existence of the concussion injury is denied, the victims simply don’t understand why their lives have been dramatically changed. They don’t understand why their personalities have changed and they live with chronic depression and irritability. They don’t understand why they don’t remember things so well. They don’t understand why they have trouble with word-finding and forming sentences and all the other consequences of mild traumatic brain injury. Without the affirmation of the medical community diagnosing the concussion injury and explaining that they are “not crazy”, they are left with the only choice of assuming that “I must just be crazy” and they lose their “sense of self”. How sad!!!
The purpose of this work is to explore the curious concept of how and why the medical literature conveys a so completely different message from that which is employed in actual practice by the large majority of the healthcare community that continues to ignore this valuable research and knowledge. Additionally, the goal is to summarize and bring to light the true state of the actual medical research that is so sorely ignored.
Douglas Schmidt
Senior Trial Lawyer
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.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Founding Partner, Dean M. Salita, with more than 30 years of legal experience as a personal injury attorney.
How does a spinal cord injury affect the brain? A spinal cord injury can impact the human brain significantly because there is an i...
view articleDOCTORS OF CHIROPRACTIC ARE THE "SAFETY NET" FOR OVERLOOKED CONCUSSION INJURIES The Concussion Injury Lawyers at the Schmidt Salit...
view articleMINNESOTA WORKERS COMPENSATION LAWYERS - BRAIN INJURY Minnesota workers who sustain a head injury, a traumatic brain injury or con...
view article
1600 Hopkins Crossroad
Minnetonka, MN 55305
Phone (952) 473-4530
Toll Free 1-800-656-8450
Fax (952) 544-1308