Brain Injury Predicted to be 3rd Leading Cause of Global Injury & Disease by 2020
After a brian injury, getting through the day can be difficult. However, when a brain-injured victim must also prepare for Court, the stress adds to an already overwhelming metabolic load that can reverse gains made in therapy and at home. That is why when several cases were set for Court this week, the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., immediately notified the courts in Manassas (Prince William County), Fairfax and Richmond, Virginia that clients who have sustained Traumatic Brain Injury (“TBI”) would need: more time, interpreters and videographers for their testimony.
The reason that brain injury lawyer Doug Landau spends the time, effort and money to have his TBI clients’ deposition testimony videotaped, is precisely so the judge can see how long it took to answer questions, the confusion in their eyes and the need for breaks, clarification, short & long term memory loss, explanation and eventual exhaustion. Failure to make a record of these difficulties can lead to the innocent victim of a brain injury to lose their case in court. And the number of Traumatic Brain Injuries is not decreasing despite movies like “Concussion,” the NFL settlement or high profile suicides by well-known athletes.
In the world of sports medicine, the incidents and diagnoses of brain injury are increasing. Having studied sports medicine and exercise science at Boston University, lawyer Landau was concerned to see that the World Health Organization (WHO) has projected that by the year 2020, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) will rank third as a leading cause of the global burden of disease and injury. Having written about research here in the Commonwealth on TBIs and distributed helmets to local schools for years, Landau agrees with the American College of Sports Medicine that current efforts to protect the brain are from outside the skull (helmets, mouthpieces, padding, tackling instruction, soccer headbands, etc.) have not led to any significant reduction in the incidence, nor the extent, of concussive brain injury. This is because these “exterior strategies” address the shock and force on the outside of the skull.
As Landau teaches when discussing demonstrates brain injury prevention, helmets do not limit movement inside the cranium or collision of the brain inside the hard, unforgiving skull. A brain can be bruised when it hits the INSIDE of the skull, and the swelling has nowhere to go as the brain cavity is a “zero sum”, finite space. Hence swelling inside the brain cavity can cause all sorts of symptoms beyond headaches, dizziness, nausea, which is why early diagnosis and treatment are critical to recovery and return to functionality. The efficacy of current strategies to reduce concussion risk and the potential for new approaches in treating TBI are constantly on lawyer Landau’s “radar,” as the health and well being of his disabled clients depend on further advances in this field of medical science. If you or someone you know or care for has sustained a concussion, closed head brain injury, or fractured or cracked skull and there are questions about what laws apply, where are local treatment centers, e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555) at once.