The National Summit on Sports Concussion is an annual event featuring prominent medical providers,scientists and clinicians who focus on preventing and treating sports concussion and orthopedic injuries. This year's conference is scheduled for Friday, May 14, 2010 at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel, Los Angeles, California. The National Summit addresses the comprehensive health care needs of athletes who are at risk for, or have already sustained, a concussion or orthopedic injury. The target audi...

I'm on my way to Washington, D.C. today to participate in the 8th Annual Brain Injury World Conference sponsored by the International Brain Injury Association. With over 1,000 registered participants, I am honored that I was selected to do a presentation on Friday on the Medical-Legal Aspects of Traumatic Brain Injury. My presentation entitled NeuroLaw in the 21st century deals with many of the evidentiary issues faced in the court room in the trial of a brain injury case such as the misuse o...

It's hard to keep track of all the events scheduled to take place in March across the United States in connection with Brain Injury Awareness Month. I just came across a great list of brain injury events put together by BrainLine. View the list of brain injury awareness events .

Guest Post from The Customs and International Trade Law Blog The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently issued several warning letters to prominent food and drink companies regarding false claims displayed on their food and drink products, including those marketed to children.  Some food products brazenly claim to increase a person’s immune system, reduce the chance of [...]

The Brain Injury Association of New York State (BIANYS) has announced an upcoming program to be held in New York City on March 20, 2010 as part of Brain Injury Awareness Month: ASK THE EXPERTS: A FORUM FOR PEOPLE WITH BRAIN INJURY AND THEIR FAMILIES The program features neuropsychologists and other health care professionals that will be discussing many aspects of traumatic brain injury including testing and available benefits. The program will be held at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, Hatch Audito...

Want to find your "Dr. Right"? Now, you can! You can meet your next doctor on a "speed date." Dne Texas hospital is trying its hand at a method once left to the dating world and to ads in in-flight...

Check out this video on You Tube, RideSmart sponsored by the Mission Children's Hospital. The video utilizes a peer-to-peer approach to teach middle and high school youth about how wearing a bicycle helmet can protect them from serious injuries (including brain injuries) and death. The video also explains how a traumatic brain injury takes place and the multiple difficulties that victims of brain damage face. Featuring a diverse group of teens and pre-teens modeling the newest, coolest looks...

Today's article is a guest post by The Dolan Law Offices.Truck accidents often result in serious physical injuries or fatalities. The sheer force of a truck against a car, motorcycle, pedestrian or bicyclist is enough to make truck collisions among the most dangerous types of motor vehicle accidents. The best way to protect yourself from the potentially serious consequences of a truck accident

With motor vehicle accidents being a major cause of traumatic brain injury in young adults, driver education and auto accident avoidance is of paramount concern. The Brain Injury Association of New Jersey has developed a free, drivers education curriculum and other helpful information on driver safety. The website includes lesson plans for safe driving, distracted driving, road rage, auto insurance, the Graduated Driver License (GDL), seat belts, and more. Access the site, New Jersey Driver E...

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. On March 17, 2010 a special brain injury awareness fair has been planned for Capitol Hill. Below is the schedule of events for the day: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM - Brain Injury Awareness Fair, First Floor Foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM - Briefing: “From the Playground to the Pros: A Heads-Up on Concussion”, Capitol Visitors Center – Congressional Meeting Room South 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM - Reception Celebrating Brain Injury...

William King is dying from MS. His two twenty-something sons, Ennis and Malcolm, already lost their mother to cancer 15 years earlier and now must deal with his slow deterioration. To make matters worse, the King family is poor, or...

Recognizing that a person who has sustained a traumatic brain injury may appear to be “normal” at the scene of the trauma,. the Pentagon has instituted a new program for soldiers that have been exposed to road side blasts. These soldiers will be pulled out of combat for 24 hours and checked for a mild traumatic brain injury, even if they appear unhurt or say they are fine, according to a treatment policy the Pentagon is planning to release. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, Admir...

On the ice, concussions can result from a fall, being struck in the head by the stick or puck, or from players colliding with the ice, with each other, or the boards (sides of a hockey rink). Recently, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) teamed up with USA Hockey to develop the "Heads Up: Concussion in Hockey" initiative to offer information about concussions to coaches, parents, and athletes involved in youth sports. Through this partnerhsip, a poster on concussion was dissminate...

NFL draft hopefuls are undergoing more thorough examinations for head injuries this week at the annual scouting combine in Indianapolis. All 329 invited players will be given a baseline brain activity exam, the ImPACT test, and will most likely face more questioning than previous draft classes about their concussion histories. In past years, it was up to individual teams to conduct such tests. By examining everyone at the combine, the league will have a more standardized way of evaluating pla...

Hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, brain damage caused by the lack of sufficient amounts of oxygen is the subject of an entire special issue of NeuroRehabilitation: An International Journal (NRE). We frequently see the devastating brain damage caused by the lack of oxygen to the brain in medical malpractice cases including anesthesia errors, surgical errors causing massive bleeding and in emergency rooms where improper diagnoses are frequently made. More information is provided by the brain injur...

The Arbitrary and Unfair Impact of Tort Reform

Malpractice Lawsuit against New York Podiatrist Results in $3,000,000 Pain and Suffering Verdict for College Student; Trial Judge Orders Reduction to $1,000,000

The technique known as “facilitated communication” in which a patient in a depressed state of consciousness supposedly directs the hand of a therapist who then types out the patient’s thoughts as been discredited by leading medical researchers. Last November a Belgian man who was in a comatose type state for almost two decades following an automobile accident was thought to be able to communicate using this technique. While researchers still believe based upon brain scans that the indiv...

How does the human brain process fear? An interesting conference has been posted on the Scientific American web site: Neuroscientist Joseph E. Le­Doux of New York University will reveal what we know about the biological underpinnings of fear and memory during a lecture hosted by the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). This year OHSU. is hosting seven weeks of activities in conjunction with brain injury awareness month, including talks by leading brain researchers and science write...

A study will be presented this April at the American Academy of Neurology conference describing a simple test that measures reaction time which the study authors claim can help assess whether athletes have suffered a concussion and when they're able to resume playing. In a news release Dr. James T. Eckner of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Michigan is quoted as saying "Research has shown that reaction time is slower after a concussion -- even a...

Recent medical reports in the New England Journal of Medicine February 18, 2010) Vol 362 no. 7 report that upwards of 40% of patients thought to be in a persistent vegetative state are misdiagnosed. A video interview with two of the study authors, Adrian Owen and Steven Laureys describing and illustrating the use of fMRI studies to determine cognitive thought can be found on line by clicking Coma Patients Talk With Brain.

As more iPhone apps are released for medical purposes such as diagnosis and treatment of symptoms, Electronic Medical Records (EMR), and other health-related purposes, Apple’s mobile device is garnering more attention from the FDA. Don Witters of the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) said the agency’s goal is to achieve safe, secure, and reliable deployments [...]

News reports from California on a jury award of $12 million on Thursday to a Southern California woman who was left in a vegetative state after a hospital delayed proper neurosurgical care for her brain injury. According to the reports, this 22 year old individual had been shot in the head by an air gun and was rushed to the hospital fully conscious where she was able to walk into the emergency room. Unfortunately, the hospital either delayed performing surgery or failed to timely transfer he...

People with compelling stories to share about living with a brain disorder or neurologic condition are invited to submit a short video to the 2010 Neuro Film Festival, an American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Foundation event that aims to raise awareness about brain disorders and the need to support research into preventions, treatments, and cures. For a complete list of contest rules and to enter your film, visit the 2010 Neuro Film Festival page. The deadline for submission is February 16, 2010.

The Brain Injury Association of New York State in conjunction with North Shore University Hospital and the brain injury rehabilitation program, Transitions of Long Island is sponsoring a program on Sunday, March 21, 2010 from 9 AM to 3:30 PM at Rust Auditorium, North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, New York to explore the life long issues of living with a traumatic brain injury. Among the scheduled topics are: Assessing Long Term Outcomes; Occupational and Speech/Language Therapies to A...

A fascinating OP ED in the New York Times asks the important question, why are we now for the first time taking concussions seriously? The OP ED by Deborah Blum reveals the following warning in October of 1928 in the Journal of the American Medical Association: “There is a very definite brain injury due to single or repeated blows on the head or jaw which cause multiple concussion hemorrhages. ... The condition can no longer be ignored by the medical profession or the public.” Thankfully,...

To understand why Sen. John McCain introduced a bill on dietary supplements, read the press releases. The legislation announced Feb. 3  addresses public safety, but mostly it’s about the reputation and revenue of professional and Olympic sports. The evidence: McCain says in the release that “a little over a year ago the NFL suspended six players, [...]

Lawyers are required to take continuing legal education classes on a regular basis. In this lecture, Gerry Oginski gives a CLE class on medical malpractice which is geared toward the attorney who does not handle these types of cases.Medical Malpractice Law for the Non-Personal Injury Attorney

The Brain Injury Association of America reports that the 2011 budget released yesterday by President Obama contains level funding for the HRSA state grant brain injury program. With many programs in the federal budget being either cut or eliminated completely, it is encouraging that the administration has realized the importance of traumatic brain injury funding. But, with TBI being a national health epidemic, keeping funding a current levels is simply not sufficient. More funds need to be de...

Helmets reduce the risk of head injury for skiers and snowboarders by 35 per cent, according to a study released today by the University of Calgary’s faculty of medicine. The article, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, also suggests there's no evidence a helmet increases the risk of neck injury. “Our findings show that helmets protect the head, whether you’re skiing or snowboarding, young or old,” Kelly Russell, lead author of the article, said in a news release. �...

If you are an established supplement company looking for assistance with an intellectual property issue, or a brand new supplement firm trying to break into the market, we are here to help! We often receive inquiries from companies looking for assistance with trademark matters.  For this very reason, we created a new form for use in [...]

The New York Times carries a story in today's edition, States Taking the Lead Addressing Concussionsreporting on events scheduled to take place during next week's Super Bowl to promote state legislative initiatives to curtail the risk of concussions in school sports. As part of the Super Bowl festivities, there will be an event sponsored by the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation in support of legislation in each and every state to regulate the conduct of coaches and trainers and mandate that athlete...

Rhode Island jand Connecticut joins the growing list of states considering legislation to protect school aged children from dangerous return to play decisions which expose them to further injury following a concussion. The proposed Rhode Island legislation would require any student athlete who gets hit in the head to receive written clearance from a licensed health-care professional who has training in treating concussions. The bill would require any youth athlete “suspected of sustaining a...

Their is a strong association between head trauma and the development of post traumatic epilepsy. Reports of this association go all the way back to the Roman empire and it is now well established by the medical literature. Traumatic epilepsy can develop hours, days, weeks, months or even year following brain trauma. It is important to always consider a traumatic event as the cause of early or late developing seizure disorder. The International Brain Injury Association (IBIA) has posted a goo...

An online article on the site of the International Brain Injury Association (IBIA) advises caution in the administration of traditional neuropsychological assessments to spanish speaking individuals. Many of the traditional tests the authors conclude are not capable of being properly translated into Spanish because of various nuances in the spanish language. The authors conclude that it is necessary that specific tests and specific items be included in tests for neuropsychological assessment...

The International Brain Research Foundation (IBRF) has announced its Fifth Anniversary Celebration of Excellence in Brain Research and Treatment that will take place on Thursday, 7PM, February 25, 2010, at the Penn Club in Manhattan, NY. The International Brain Research Foundation will be honoring U.S. Representative Joseph Crowley-NY for his outstanding support in the area of Severe Disorders of Consciousness research. In addition, U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell-NJ, co-chair of the Congre...

The Associated Press reports that the NFL Players Association held their first meeting of the recently formed formed Mackey-White Traumatic Brain Injury Committee in Florida today. The group includes professional athletes, past and current NFL players, doctors and researchers. It aims to open a dialogue on brain injuries in professional football, to discuss and share the latest research and begin the process of developing recommendations to keep players safer. More information will be provide...

Accidents caused by the dangerous driving of truckers leads to many traumatic brain injuries. The U.S. government today announced a ban on hand-held "texting'' by drivers of large commercial trucks and buses to avoid the danger of distracted driving. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement the prohibition takes effect immediately. It follows a similar ban in December for drivers of federal government vehicles. "We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who...

Today, the New York Times exposes two severe instances of cancer patients who died not of their cancer, but of excessive radiation doses to TREAT their cancer. This is a moving video.In an expose video, the Times explains how excessive radiation doses are never disclosed to the public. The New York State Department of Health has identified over 130 instances of careless administration of

This month's issue of The American Journal of Bioethics features a Target Article by Diekema and Fost articulating their defense of the Ashley X procedures. Multiple commentators, including Dr. John Lantos, take issue with their claims, arguing that growth attenuation...

On Tuesday, March 10, 2010, the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey will present its 2010 Gala at the Hanover Marriott in Whippany, New Jersey. The Gala will celebrate more than a quarter century of service as well as honor individuals who have made significant contributions to advancing the quality of life in for victims of brain injury in New Jersey. Rebecca “Becky” Quick, co-anchor of CNBC’s signature morning program Squawk Box, will serve as the Honorary Chairperson and Mistress...

I have given many lectures in the past concerning public perceptions of traumatic brain injury, discussing that the words we use have a great impact upon how members of the public perceive the severity and consequence of a traumatic brain injury. We learned many years ago from the Harris Poll study commissioned by the Brain Injury Association of America that the public perceived a "head" injury and a "brain" injury in very different ways. The latter being perceived as a mo...

GUEST POST BY DAVID MARK The Washington Post recently published an article asserting that vitamin D is shaping up to be the nutrient of the year, if not the decade. The article started factually strong but weakened at the end when it made specific recommendations. The Post references an article in Consumer Reports titled “Most people get [...]

The first time I heard the term "ambulance chaser" I must have been in college. I had no idea what it meant. I had no idea it was a derogatory term. In fact, I had no idea what personal injury lawyers did or why someone would call them an ambulance chaser.That all changed when I went to law school and decided to be a medical malpractice and personal injury trial lawyer. I learned that some people

The answer is "No."There are plenty of board 'eligible' doctors that are excellent at what they do.There are plenty of board certified doctors that are excellent at what they do.On the other hand, there are a handful of doctors who are board eligible and doctors who are board certified who may be 'educationally challenged'.Just because a doctor is not board certified does not, by itself, mean

Marketers of nutritional supplements often complain that they do not know what the FDA wants. Even after the agency sends a warning letter about misleading claims and advertising, its staff does not explain what would fall within the rules. That’s the reality; the FDA will tell you what’s wrong, not what’s right. Through warning letters, the [...]

Give me a break! I couldn't believe the testimony rendered at yesterday's congressional hearing in Detroit on player safety in the NFL and youth sports from the former chair of the NFL Committee on mild concussions. While the jurisdiction of the House Judiciary committee may be limited when it comes to high school and college sports, they can change the mentality of the game by changing the rules when it comes to the right to sue for disability caused by antiquated and dangerous policies that...

2009 was an incredible year for the dietary supplement industry.  While the rest of American business floundered amidst the depths of a recession, the dietary supplement business thrived.  Americans concerned about maintaining their good health stocked up on supplements by the shopping cartful. In a year when initial public offerings and acquisitions were almost unheard of, [...]

Thanks to the Brain Injury Association of New York State's quarterly newsletter, Brain Power for alerting me to an announcement by the United Health Fund (UHF) concerning the launching of a new web based resource, "Next Step in Care" which provides useful information to families regarding transferring a patient from one level of care to another. The site is designed to held family members and health care providers to ensure safe and smooth transitions between different types of care...

According to a study published on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the supplement GINKGO do not provide any help in preventing memory decline or decline in any other cognitive task. "Compared with placebo, the use of G. biloba, 120 milligrams twice daily, did not result in less cognitive decline in older adults," the authors of the study concluded. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study is the largest of its kind, having followed 3,0...