Long Island

Published on: February 19, 2012

Death and very severe injuries are noted by hospital records

by Stephen Bilkis

Trying to incorporate minor head injuries into studies is often more difficult than making a study of severe head injuries, doctors in many different areas note. Death and very severe injuries are noted by hospital records. When a minor head injury occurs with other more serious injuries, the head injury is often left out of reports. Concussions fall into this category.

The problem of insufficient documentation is worse in rural areas. Most minor head injuries go unreported there because people don’t bother to visit an Accident and Emergency department. When a hospital is involved, there are often a number of medical professionals that attend to the injury, including neurosurgeons, general or orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, geriatricians, and primary care physicians.

A Health Interview Survey study of USA households showed an annual estimated rate of head injury of 6 per 1000 of the population, but it also included facial injuries. Actual head injuries would probably be somewhat less than this, many studies on this subject note.

Published on: December 31, 2011

The symptoms of bTBI (explosive blast traumatic brain injury) can actually be very subtle

by Stephen Bilkis

The symptoms of bTBI (explosive blast traumatic brain injury) can actually be very subtle, doctors tell patients. Sometimes, there is no outward sign of brain injury until certain symptoms begin to arise, like headaches, vertigo, or short-term memory loss. Because of this, victims of bTBI should be evaluated by a physician or psychologist to determine how extensive their injuries might be, if any. Neurophysical evaluation should be a part of this examination. There are currently efforts to create neuropsychological tests that can be automated on laptop computer or are easy enough to be used to by first responders who may have less training.

Patients who may have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) should see a combat stress team provider or a psychiatrist as soon as possible. It is very important to remember, doctors have learned, that bTBI and PTSD can have very similar symptoms and may occur alone or together in a patient. It may be difficult to tell them apart.

When TBI brain injury may be present in a patient, that person should be excused from all combat-related duties. The patient should be put on light duty until the symptoms are gone or until he or she is moved to a place where advanced neuroimaging, like MRI, may be used, and a more detailed evaluation can be used. Studies in Manhattan and Long Island have determined that it is vital for a patient suffering TBI, or who may be suffering from it, to be treated with the utmost care, so the condition does not become worse.

Published on: December 25, 2011

Driver behavior is naturally an important component in preventing injuries

by Stephen Bilkis

Driver behavior is naturally an important component in preventing brain injuries of any kind, including head injuries, doctors note. The threat of legislative penalties does a great deal to influence risk-taking behavior. For instance, laws making the use of seatbelts mandatory increases the use of seatbelts, which decreases the rate of injury dramatically.

No matter where it is employed, the enactment of seatbelt laws tend to reduce the incidence of vehicle accident related head injury. Studies all over the United States, as well as some in European countries, confirm this time and again.

There is still a problem, with some cars, with the steering wheel causing severe brain injury in accidents, even when seatbelts are employed. The use of driver’s side airbags reduce even these injuries. Experts in Brooklyn and Long Island say, however, that an airbag should always be used in conjunction with a seatbelt, not as a replacement for one.

Published on: December 14, 2011

Physicians currently do not have many distinctions between explosive blast traumatic brain injury (bTBI)

by Stephen Bilkis

Physicians currently do not have many distinctions between explosive blast traumatic brain injury (bTBI), closed head traumatic brain injury (cTBI) and penetrative traumatic brain injury (pTBI), according to medical studies. The military also uses the same criteria to assess such injuries as civilians.

A 1993 definition from the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine of TBI apples to bTBI when an explosive blast causes loss of consciousness, amnesia, or loss of focus. The severity is determined by how long the altered mental state lasts caused by a brain contusion. Less than 5 minutes is mild, though it can lead into difficulties like headaches, confusion, and amnesia, as well as a difficulty to concentrate, altered mood, problems sleeping, and general anxiety. These symptoms usually go within a few hours or days.

Experts in New York City and Long Island have discovered that even these mild cases could result in post-concussive syndrome which could happen days later. Government agencies are currently developing guidelines to manage this condition, which seems to respond to simple reassurance and specific treatments like non-narcotic analgesics, anti-migraine medication to treat headaches, and anti-depressants. Just as with civilian cTBI, the problem might last only a few weeks, but it might well last a year or more in some cases.

Published on: December 8, 2011

Man with brain injury defended

by Stephen Bilkis

Studies indicated that a man who received a brain injury when he was caught by police while he broke into the home of a business man did not get the jail sentence that many thought that he deserved for another offence that he committed. This decision was made due to his brain injury and because he was not fit to enter a plea.

According to the police, the defendant was hit with a bat by the business man during the incident that took place. The brain injury that he sustained caused him to escape from being imprisoned. The defendant was facing other charges, but the jury decided that he could not be found guilty.

A court spokesperson said, “He received a reduced penalty of being supervised for twelve months in a probation program.” The business man was put in jail for injuring the defendant according to authorities, but he was later released after his appeal. He had chased the defendant down the street and inflicted a skull fracture on him. According to the judge, no one was in any danger after the defendant had left the business man’s home; therefore, the business man should be made liable for his actions.

Published on: November 30, 2011

Motor vehicles are now specifically made to both be easier to drive and more durable so the passengers have less chance of injury

by Stephen Bilkis

Doctors have noted another big factor in the prevention of head injury and brain injury including concussions: motor vehicle design. When the vehicle is less likely to crash and crashes are made more survivable, lives will be saved. Motor vehicles are now specifically made to both be easier to drive and more durable so the passengers have less chance of injury. Most car manufacturers test their vehicles thoroughly, and safety standards are now government policy in many developed countries.

Better engine performance, better lights, better steering, and other aspects of better car design have become more prominent over the last few decades. While it is sometimes difficult to determine that good car design prevents crashes, it can be proven that poor car design is dangerous. Ralph Nader’s famous work, ‘Unsafe At Any Speed’ has been cited by many as the work that impelled car designers to take a closer look at their manufacturing policies and the public at large to consider car safety an important factor in their automobiles. Trained observers in Brooklyn and Long Island have also seen that the occupants of larger vehicles tend to be more safe than the occupants of smaller vehicles.

Cars can be designed to be safer and reduce head injury, by absorbing the impact when it comes to a crash, that would otherwise harm the occupants. Things like crumple zones protect from frontal crashes, but side impacts are more difficult to plan for. Most modern car designs have removed any interior protrusions, so penetrating injuries are now much less common in car accidents than they once were

Published on: November 27, 2011

Sports are not really known for causing major head injury

by Stephen Bilkis

Sports are not really known for causing major head injury, according to experts, but as technology advances, people may find more opportunity for engaging in different sports where the potential for injury is more prevalent. Sports only accounted for between 3% and 5% of head injuries in the 1950s and 1960s, it rose to 12% by the 1980s. Mild head injuries related to sports or recreation were more likely to occur in males than in females, with males peaking at 10-14 years of age, but females peaking about 5 years earlier.

Horseback riding has seen its share of head injuries as it becomes more popular, doctors have discovered. In the country of Sweden, there were a number of riding accidents, but very few caused head injuries and even fewer were fatal. In a Canadian study, head injuries occurred in 92% of 156 riding injuries, and were determined to cause all 11 deaths. That number was 79% of all deaths associated with horseback riding.

Boxing has caused a great deal of controversy, because it may very well cause a great deal of brain injury. The sport, however, has contributed a great deal to the understanding of brain damage due to repeated blows to the head. Regulation has reduced the number of fatalities. Even though a knockout involves inducing a coma lasting more than 10 seconds from a blow to the head, investigations fail to show evidence of lost of intellectual capacity in boxers, when they are studied under control conditions in Long Island and New York City.

Published on: November 21, 2011

The military also uses the same criteria to assess such injuries as civilians

by Stephen Bilkis

Physicians currently do not have many distinctions between explosive blast traumatic brain injury (bTBI), closed head traumatic brain injury (cTBI) and penetrative traumatic brain injury (pTBI). The military also uses the same criteria to assess such injuries as civilians.

A 1993 definition from the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine of TBI apples to bTBI when an explosive blast causes loss of consciousness, amnesia, or loss of focus. The severity is determined by how long the altered mental state lasts. Less than 5 minutes is mild, though it can lead into difficulties like headaches, confusion, and amnesia, as well as a difficulty to concentrate, altered mood, problems sleeping, and general anxiety. These symptoms usually go within a few hours or days.

Authorities have discovered that even these mild cases could result in post-concussive syndrome which could happen days later. Government agencies and authorities in Manhattan and Long Island are currently developing guidelines to manage this condition, which seems to respond to simple reassurance and specific treatments like non-narcotic analgesics, anti-migraine medication to treat headaches, and anti-depressants. Just as with civilian cTBI, the problem might last only a few weeks, but it might well last a year or more in some cases.

Published on: November 14, 2011

Head trauma, by medical standards, has to have a broad definition

by Stephen Bilkis

Head trauma, by medical standards, has to have a broad definition, New York Brain Injury Lawyers have learned. It can refer to any trauma to the body above the lower border of the mandible. In fact, injury to the face or jaw is considered different from head trauma, even though injury to one often causes injury to the other. For these purposes, the head includes the scalp, skull, meninges, blood vessels, and brain. Trauma is used to mean an external force of energy, like a mechanical force, that causes physical injury to any or all of the tissues that make up the head. Other injuries, such as those caused by electrical, thermal, or chemical energy are usually considered to be a separate sort of injury, treated as burns, but deep burns can often cause injuries that require neurosurgical care. Such construction accident injuries, however, are quite rare.

For the purposes of a study to collect data on head injury, there is no agreed definition, New York Brain Injury Lawyers have learned, which makes it nearly impossible to compare studies when they do occur. It is important, therefore, to find a definition that fits. Some have stressed the separation of head injury from brain injury, with the latter meaning neurological damage. These same sources also advocate the identification of patients who sustain ‘neuro-trauma of public health consequence’ where there was a high chance of ongoing neurological impairment which would require medical or nursing care.

Sometimes, however, it is better to keep the definition a little boarder, because many head injury patients often seem minor at first, but later show evidence of much greater injury. Hospitals in Long island and New York City are aware of the situation.

Published on: November 7, 2011

In the United States, fire arms and unintentional falls come a distant second and third

by Stephen Bilkis

In the matter of fatalities due to head injuries, New York Brain Injury Lawyers have learned that motor vehicle accidents are the vast majority of cases. In the United States, fire arms and unintentional falls come a distant second and third. The motor vehicle deaths were more common among young people, from 15 to 24 years of age, while the deaths from Slip and Falls were far more prevalent among those over 75 years of age.

When it came to head injuries causing comas, motor vehicles were again the most frequent cause. Head injury was most likely to occur when the injured person was out of odors and traveling by motor car during the warmer months of the year on a weekend.

The vast majority of transport-related injuries were due to road crashes, New York Brain Injury Lawyers discovered. Most of these were to the occupants of vehicles. Children were more likely to be injured than pedestrians or cyclists.