Staten Island

Published on: February 2, 2012

Injury in a vehicular accident is often caused by damage to the vehicle

by Stephen Bilkis

Since so many head injuries are caused by motor vehicles, doctors and hospitals have looked into the patterns of cause when it comes to vehicle accidents. It was discovered that the severity of the injury was directly linked to the incidence of head injury, pelvic and femoral fractures, and abdominal injury.

Injury in a vehicular accident is often caused by damage to the vehicle, like dashboard intrusion, steering wheel deformation, windshield violation, and the vehicle’s frame being crumpled. Impacts from the front or the side often damages the passenger side. Seatbelts were shown to cause a lower incident of severe injury, including head injury, doctors learned.

Motorcyclists are often prone to injury, due to their relative exposure. Collision with another vehicle and loss of control of the motorcycle contribute to all most all head injuries to motorcyclists. The compulsory use of helmets has actually reduced the death rate, according to a study.

Published on: January 18, 2012

Closed head injuries generally result from a moving head hitting a stationary object

by Stephen Bilkis

The response of the head when a head injury is sustained has a great effect on the severity of the injury, according to studies. If the head is unable to change its velocity after impact, the skull may be crushed somewhat, resulting in a deformation of the skull. Injuries like this occur when a heavy object falls on the head of someone lying on an unyielding surface, such as a concrete floor. Closed head injuries or concussions generally result from a moving head hitting a stationary object or an object moving at a different velocity. Such injuries are thought to be caused by the acceleration of the brain within the skull.

Doctors know that impact with something that will bend, like the panel of a car, will have much less impact force than impact with something like a concrete floor. The panel of the car will absorb the force and slow the acceleration of the victim at a slower rate than a harder surface would. It may be the case, however, that in some cases a low level of acceleration over a longer period of time may actually be more harmful than a high level of acceleration that lasts a very short time.

Physicians and other experts in Staten Island and Westchester can attempt to model such effects with physics, but any efforts are often in vain due to the differences between individuals. The shape of the head itself, which varies quite a bit between human beings, may well be a factor in the effect of an impact upon the skull. Each case is therefore, unique, and may be difficult to judge by the examination of another case.

Published on: December 28, 2011

Most head injuries are caused by contact or acceleration/deceleration forces

by Stephen Bilkis

Most head injuries are caused by contact or acceleration/deceleration forces, or a combination of those factors, according to experts.

Contact injuries such as skull fractures, extradural hematomas, laceration/contusion-related subdural hematomas and contusions, come about when the head strikes or is struck by an object. These injuries are only sustained by direct impacts. Contusions, or bruises, are caused by damage to the blood vessels due to forces compressing an area of the brain by deforming the skull, or by the forces created when a bowed-in portion of the skull suddenly snaps back into place.

Injuries caused by acceleration and deceleration cause damage to the brain cells themselves, doctors have learned. Violent head motion can create forces that cause stresses in the brain which cannot be determined by the means that caused the head motion.

Published on: December 11, 2011

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is now a well-defined clinical syndrome

by Stephen Bilkis

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is now a well-defined clinical syndrome, according to experts. The 2000 edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision states that some patients who experience life-threatening events might well feel intense fear or helplessness which becomes PTSD.

Victims of PTSD suffer through a number of symptoms, which may include re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, a loss of concentration, sudden anger or irritation, hypervigilance, and a heightened response to being startled. All of these can cause a detrimental effect on the victim to enjoy life.

Mild explosive blast traumatic brain injury (bTBI) has many of these symptoms in common with PTSD, including changes in sleep patterns and moods. There are some differences, however, doctors have learned. Headaches, for instance, are much more likely with TBI, while hypervigilance and the tendency to startle more easily is more common with PTSD.

Published on: November 24, 2011

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is now a well-defined clinical syndrome

by Stephen Bilkis

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is now a well-defined clinical syndrome. The 2000 edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision states that some patients who experience life-threatening events might well feel intense fear or helplessness which becomes PTSD.

Victims of PTSD suffer through a number of symptoms, which may include re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, a loss of concentration, sudden anger or irritation, hypervigilance, and a heightened response to being startled. All of these can cause a detrimental effect on the victim to enjoy life.

Mild explosive blast traumatic brain injury (bTBI) has many of these symptoms in common with PTSD, including changes in sleep patterns and moods. There are some differences, however, have learned. Headaches, for instance, are much more likely with TBI, while hypervigilance and the tendency to startle more easily is more common with PTSD. Hospitals and doctors in Nassau and Staten Island are studying these cases.

Published on: October 30, 2011

No one is certain what really causes primary explosive blast traumatic brain injury (bTBI)

by Stephen Bilkis

No one is certain what really causes primary explosive blast traumatic brain injury (bTBI), according to New York Brain Injury Lawyers. Clearly, the “cause” is the explosion and the mechanism by which it works is the interaction of explosive force upon the human body, but this does not medically explain everything that occurs.

There are primary and secondary injury mechanisms when it comes to trauma. Primary injury mechanisms can be attributed directly to the cause of the injury, like laceration from a cut. Secondary injuries are physiological responses, like bleeding or bruising. When it comes to bTBI, doctors in Staten Island and Westchester County have learned, there is probably more than one primary injury mechanism involved.

The blast produced by an explosive device travels through a medium like air or water in a wave of pressure. Basically, a great deal of energy is chemically produced. Mechanical, thermal, and electromagnetic energy is transferred into the surrounding medium, and into anyone who happens to be in the blast radius.

Published on: September 28, 2011

State Representative Teacher Breaks up Fight and Ends up with TBI

by Stephen Bilkis

Dewayne Bunch, a Whitley County High School teacher and State Representative, is reportedly improving after sustaining a head injury when trying to break two boys apart during a school cafeteria altercation. According to the public relations and marketing director for Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, the 49-year-old’s recovery is going nicely.

The teacher, sustaining serious injuries, was immediately transported to Baptist Regional Medical Center. The then had to be transferred to the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Two weeks later, he was again relocated to the intensive care unit at Shepherd Center, a hospital specializing in the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries where he improved so much that he was able to be moved to the hospital’s rehabilitation unit.

His wife expressed sincere thanks. She was quoted as saying, “I appreciate the outpouring of support and kindness we’ve received from the community. Please continue to keep [my husband] in your prayers as he continues his journey to recovery.”

Published on: September 17, 2011

The combat medic works hard to prevent further harm from coming to the victim.

by Stephen Bilkis

Care for victims of traumatic brain injury (TBI) starts on the battlefield, according to “Guidelines for Field Management of Combat-Related Head Trauma”, New York Brain Injury Lawyers have learned. The combat medic works hard to prevent further harm from coming to the victim. The basics, such as the ABCs of airway, breathing, and circulation are tended to before work on the actual injury begins.

Once the patient is stabilized, the severity of the injury is determined, which helps form the basis of triage decisions. Someone who is less injured can be evacuated to a better facility than a field hospital. Some of these need to be moved by helicopter or some other expeditious manner. A blast from something like an improvised explosive device (IED) often results in multiple injuries, which need to be managed all at once. Doctors in Queens and Staten Island are aware of these problems when they treat veterans of combat.

The combat support hospital is the place for a more detailed assessment of injuries. When it comes to blast trauma, neuroimaging with CT scans should be done as soon as possible. It is important to identify things like intracranial hemorrhage, skull fractures, or cerebral edemas before they develop into something worse. Often it is necessary to perform emergency neurosurgery, NY Brain Injury Lawyers have discovered.

Published on: August 21, 2011

Explosive blast traumatic brain injury (bTBI) can be a complicated thing

by Stephen Bilkis

Explosive blast traumatic brain injury (bTBI) can be a complicated thing, NY Brain Injury Lawyers have learned. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have determined secondary, tertiary, and even quaternary effects that may contribute to a particular patient’s condition.

The primary injury comes from the forces created by the explosion itself. Secondary injury might occur due to matter thrown by the explosion, like fragments from the weapon itself, or debris in the immediate environment. Tertiary injury occurs when the victim is thrown by the blast to strike a wall or the ground. Finally, quaternary injuries may occur from factors not included in the first three, like burns or inhalation of toxic fumes.

Lawyers have seen that the injuries can cause a number of symptoms. It might be as mild as a brief period of confusion – or it may lead to a coma. Severe bTBI commonly leads to diffuse cerebral edema and hyperemia, developing rapidly, within an hour after the initial blast injury. This type of injury seems to be much more common with blasts, as opposed to other forms of traumatic brain injury, and this type of injury has lead to military neurosurgeons performing more decompressive craniectomies more often than they would for penetrative traumatic brain injury (pTBI) or closed head traumatic brain injury (cTBI). Hospitals and doctors in Nassau and Suffolk Counties are looking for these injuries and are ready to help the victims.

Published on: August 13, 2011

Cases of Infant Head Trauma has Doubled during Recession

by Stephen Bilkis

Child abuse in the form of head trauma (formerly called ‘shaken-baby-syndrome”) has been seen to increase alarmingly during times of great economic strain – during a recession.

Approximately twice the numbers of babies, children under two, have been hospitalized for non-accidental head trauma, and recession-related stress is being blamed.

One of the authors of the study that uncovered this trend says, “The reasons for why this is happening are beyond the scope of our study, but it may be that more parents are stressed to the breaking point because of economic problems like unemployment and foreclosures.”