Most of the people using football helmets in the Buffalo area do not play for the Buffalo Bills.  Instead, they are elementary, high school and college students playing at a scholastic level.  While football is a violent sport, every effort should be made to keep these young people safe.  Unfortunately, a recent study by the Cleveland Clinic indicates that modern style football helmets may not be the ideal way to protect youth from head injury.

The study tested modern football helmets and the old, leather helmets used decades ago to judge their ability to protect the head from low and medium impact hits – the degree that would commonly occur among youth – at a variety of angles.  The extremely hard hits that may occur at the NFL level were not tested.

Surprisingly, the study found very little difference between the two styles of helmets.  In some cases involving these lower level impacts, the leather helmet proved to actually be more effective at protecting the head.

The researchers at the Cleveland Clinic have indicated that they hope this finding will lead manufacturers to re-examine helmet design for youths.  The helmets currently used are essentially scaled down versions of professional style helmets.  These helmets are optimized to protect the head against the extremely hard hits seen at that level of play, but do not seem as effective at preventing head trauma from the lesser hits experienced by most youth when playing football.

If your child has suffered a head injury and you have any questions, we would be happy to help you.  Please feel free to call us at 716-542-5444.

Traumatic Brain Injury is among the more difficult injuries for Buffalo personal injury attorneys to prove.  While some brain injuries involve bleeding in the brain or skull fractures that a jury will be able to clearly see in brain scans or x-rays, these tools may not be precise enough to show more subtle damage.

As a result, traumatic brain injuries usually must be proven through a demonstration of how the damage has altered the functioning and performance of the injured party.  Individuals with traumatic brain injury often exhibit changes in behavior, mood, and cognitive functioning that can be described to the jury.  Also, there are a variety of diagnostic tests that brain injury treatment providers may use when evaluating the condition of the victim.  The results of these tests also can be presented to the jury and their meaning explained by the medical provider.

Fortunately for those seeking compensation following a traumatic brain injury, newer imaging devices are becoming available that actually show how the brain is functioning.  These newer devices include PET scans – which can show areas of the brain that are not receiving sufficient oxygen, and more powerful MRI machines capable to detect structural damage that previously could not be seen – including small iron deposits left by microscopic blood vessels.  

Other improvements in tradition MRI testing may also assist in the diagnosis of brain injuries.  MRI Diffusion Tensor MRI studies can see how water molecules flow through brain nerve fibers.  If the nerve fibers are damaged, the water does not flow evenly.  Functional MRI studies show which areas of the brain are functioning when the patient is asked to perform different thought related tasks and can be used to determine if the brain is operating normally.

If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury, we would be happy to help you.  Please feel free to call us at 716-542-5444.

All Buffalo residents should be aware that even if you are not struck in the head during an accident, an accident that involves the head being rapidly jerked may still lead to a brain injury.  As a result, if you or a loved one is involved in this type of accident, you should be on the lookout for the symptoms of a Traumatic Brain Injury.

Unfortunately, symptoms of this type of injury may take on many different forms.  Typical problems nclude episodes of memory loss, headaches, dizziness, difficulty with concentration, changes in speech, such as slowing or slurring of words, changes in behavior, and unexplained changes of mood.  Other possible side effects of such an injury may be more readily apparent, such as vertigo, seizures, muscle spasms, lack of coordination or strength is the extremities, and unexplained pain.

These symptoms can take time to develop following an accident.  As a result, a trained physician should be consulted if you or someone you know begins to experience these types of otherwise unexplained symptoms following an injury accident.  While the ability to recover from a Traumatic Brain Injury will vary with the degree of injury and the individual injured, the symptoms may be reduced in most cases through proper treatment.

Here in Buffalo, most lawsuits involving brain injuries arise from blows to the head or sudden acceleration/deceleration leading to brain damage.  Occasionally, however, an individual may suffer an anoxic brain injury. 

An anoxic brain injury occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen for a significant time. This occurs in incidences of, for example, drowning, choking, or strangulation. This lack of oxygen over an extended period of time results in brain cells dying.

Anoxic brain injury may occur even if an individual has not lost consciousness, and its effects may be permanent.  While this type of injury may not initially seem as serious as a blow to the head leading to a fracture, concussion or even a coma, it still may have lifelong consequences for the individual who suffered the injury. 

Although this type of injury may be more difficult to prove than other types of head injuries, an individual who has suffered an anoxic brain injury as a result of another’s negligence is entitled to seek compensation through a personal injury lawsuit.  If you or someone you know has suffered such an injury, you should consider consulting with an experienced personal injury attorney.

Unfortunately for those who suffer a traumatic brain injury in Buffalo or elsewhere, this type of injury can be difficult to prove.  Absent a fractured skull or the need for surgery, individuals who suffer this type of injury and sue often find themselves portrayed as having faked their symptoms.

Recently, a New York State appellate court found that an individual who had suffered a traumatic brain injury should be awarded $2,100,000 for past and future pain and suffering.  This amount was lower the $4,600,000 amount awarded by the jury but higher than the $1,600,000 that the verdict had been reduced to by the trial judge.

This substantial award is significant because the injured party, Vincenzo Popolizio, age 56, did not exhibit extreme symptoms of traumatic brain injury such as requiring surgery, suffering a fractured skull or suffering such serious brain damage that he required constant care.  Instead, his symptoms included cognitive function bordering on mental retardation as demonstrated by an IQ test and symptoms of depression.  In other words, he demonstrated the type of brain functioning that individuals who sue are often accused of faking. 

At trial, experts had testified that his cognitive losses and depression would never improve, and coworkers provided testimony that while Mr. Popoloizio had previously been an energetic and personable individual, he now moped around and could not even handle cash transactions.  The jury apparently found this testimony very compelling, and returned a favorable verdict for Mr. Popolizio.