Pennsylvania Personal Injury Blog

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that an autopsy of Owen Thomas, a University of Pennsylvania football player who committed suicide in April, showed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy. This disease could have been caused by head trauma and may have led to his suicide. His mother believes Thomas never had a concussion.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when a sudden trauma causes damage to the brain. According to the National Institutes of Health, [http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tbi/tbi.htm], they result mainly from vehicular incidents, falls, acts of violence, and sports injuries, and are more than twice as likely in males as in females. About 100 people per 100,000 are affected; somewhere between 2.5 and 6.5 million people. There are about 52,000 TBI related deaths per year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that even mild TBIs can affect a person’s ability to return to school or work and can result in long-term cognitive damage or other problems. Repeated or more severe TBIs can cause physical, cognitive, behavioral, or emotional problems.

If you are the parent of an athlete, it is important to become aware of brain injury symptoms. If you think your loved one is suffering as the result of a traumatic brain injury, you should seek the advice of a reputable brain injury attorney.

The experienced Pennsylvania brain injury attorneys at Cherry, Fieger & Marciano understand the legal issues of a personal injury. They offer qualified, competent legal representation with proven results. Call (888) 684-7192 for a free consultation.

Philly.com reported that Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry suffered from a chronic brain injury that might have influenced his mental state and behavior before he died in December 2009.

Doctors performed a microscopic tissue analysis of Henry’s brain that showed he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Co-directors of the Brain Injury Research Institute at West Virginia University announced their findings alongside Henry’s mother, Carolyn Henry Glaspy. Ms Glaspy was not aware of her 26-year-old son’s underlying condition or the disease.

Henry died in December 2009, a day after he came out of the back of a pickup truck his fiancé was driving. An autopsy concluded he died of numerous head injuries, including a fractured skull and brain hemorrhaging.

A team doctor for the Mountaineers and a former Pittsburgh Steelers physician and fellow researchers believe chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is caused by multiple head impacts, regardless of whether those blows result in a concussion diagnosis. A number of studies, including one commissioned by the NFL, have found that retired professional football players may have a higher rate than normal of Alzheimer’s disease and other memory problems.

Although neither NFL nor WVU records show he was diagnosed with a concussion during his playing career, it doesn’t take a collision with another player for brain trauma to occur.

Continue reading "Chronic Brain Injury Endured by Bengals Receiver Chris Henry" »

A 16-year-old pitcher playing for the Marin County Athletic League in California was hit by a line drive and suffered a brain injury. According to this article, the League is now banning the use metal bats at high school games. They will require its 10 teams to use wooden bats.

The article reported that advocates of the ban believe that metal bats allow the players to hit the ball harder, reducing a player’s reaction time.

The teenage player has been in critical condition since getting struck in the head by a line drive during practice in mid March. Part of his skull had to be removed to relieve brain swelling.

This young teen’s family would be well advised to contact an experienced brain injury attorney.
The causes of brain injuries are as varied as the victims’ conditions, with the most common causes being accidents, sports injuries, and assaults. Closed head injuries occur when the brain is damaged within the skull through a blunt force or shaking. In addition, acquired brain injury can occur from conditions in which the brain is deprived of oxygen.

Continue reading "California Baseball League Bans Metal Bats" »

A Western Pennsylvania family from Cranberry is seeking compensation from Target after their female toddler suffered a critical brain injury from a toy bin that the company had authorized for distribution. The Associated Press says the covering of the bin, made of wicker, had suddenly landed onto the two-year-old and obstructed her oxygen flow. She endured suffocation that allegedly left her comatose with severe brain damage.

Following the family’s injury claims, Target stopped selling the toy chest as well as a few comparable products. The Cranberry, Pennsylvania parents argue that the hard wicker product should have had a caution tag with age provisions or child friendly lid reinforcements. The family’s lawsuit cites recuperation costs and punitive charges. The suit was filed Monday, March 8, 2010 in an Allegheny County judicial circuit.

According to the Brain Injury Association for America, Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI, is the result of a heavy blow to the cranium or a skull-breaking injury that interrupts brain function. Nineteen percent of all TBIs are the result of a non-penetrating strike to the head, and the demographic at very high risk of TBI is children age 0 to 4. Additionally, an impaired respiratory system can cause severe brain damage by depriving the brain of oxygen. The consequences of a brain injury can be as mild as a concussion that needs no rehabilitation or as severe as paralysis that incurs life-long damage, and over 50,000 victims of brain injury will die each year.

Continue reading "Daughter of Pennsylvania Family Suffers Brain Injury" »

With healthcare becoming a national topic and the economy on a continuous downward spiral, doctors at Allegheny General Hospital have released a report detailing how motorcyclists are not only endangering themselves but are costing the state money when they are involved in an accident which requires transport, many times on helicopter, and medical treatment. The details outlined on the website pittsburghlive.com report that since the Pennsylvania helmet law was repealed in 2003 there has been an increase of motorcycle riders coming into the emergency room with serious facial and head injuries. A doctor at Allegheny General Hospital stated that treatment from facial and head injuries have doubled within the last five years.

Officials at AGH hospital reported encountering 122 motorcycle-linked facial injuries from September 2003 to August 2008, when they only had 10 from 1998 to September 2003.

Dr. Joseph E. Cillo, an AGH oral and maxillofacial surgeon, said, “Riding a motorcycle without a helmet is just risky behavior. Pennsylvania repealed the universal helmet law in 2003, but mandating helmet use to motorcyclists under 21 and riders having less than 2 years experience.”

Continue reading "PA Study Concludes Motorcyclists without Helmets at Greater Risk" »

Former NFL linebacker Ted Johnson suffered more than 100 concussions. According to an article on CNN.com, he got back-to-back concussions in 2002 and that is when his problems began. He began suffering from depression, sleep disorders, and mental fatigue.

The Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University is studying concussions in the brain. They have found that concussions confer tremendous brain damage, called Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). So far CTE has been found in the brains of six out of six former NFL players.

The damage affects the parts of the brain that control emotion, rage, hypersexuality, and even breathing. It is also a progressive disease that kills brain cells.

100 athletes have consented to have their brains studied after they die.

The NFL is planning its own independent medical study of retired NFL players on the long-term effects of concussion.

Continue reading "Dead Athletes' Brains Show Damage from Concussions" »

The New York Times reported that former NHL player Reggie Fleming, who played for the Flyers among five other teams and died in July, had brain damage due to repeated head trauma. According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Times said that this links hockey for the first time to a condition usually found in boxers.

Fleming, who spent 12 seasons in the NHL, was found by Boston University researchers to have had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a disease that causes cognitive decline, behavioral abnormalities and ultimately dementia. Fleming is the first hockey player known to have been tested for the disease, which was also found in several former NFL players recently.
A neuropathologist at Boston University who also diagnosed CTE in the former football players, told the New York times that repetitive head injuries can have very serious long-term consequences, regardless of how you get them.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 300,000 sports-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) of mild to moderate severity (1), most of which can be classified as concussions (i.e., conditions of temporarily altered mental status as a result of head trauma), occur in the United States each year. The proportion of these concussions that are repeat injuries is unknown; however, there is an increased risk for subsequent TBI among persons who have had at least one previous TBI (2,3). Repeated mild brain injuries occurring over an extended period (i.e., months or years) can result in cumulative neurologic and cognitive deficits (4,5), but repeated mild brain injuries occurring within a short period (i.e., hours, days, or weeks) can be catastrophic or fatal. The latter phenomenon, termed “second impact syndrome.”

Continue reading "Hockey Player's Brain Damage Report" »

Last Spring, legislation was passed in Washington State that prohibits young players who show signs of concussion from participating in sports unless they receive clearance from a doctor. The NFL also began running public service announcements addressing the issue.

According to this article in The Philadelphia Daily News, efforts like these are being embraced by the Team Comcast Youth Hockey Club. The club has received funding from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to develop a concussion-management program. More than 120 players participated in an “ImPACT” neurocognitive test, administered at CHOP Specialty care in Vorhees, NJ.

The Coach of the Comcast Youth Hockey club, and former Philadelphia Flyer, Keith Primeau said that he was comforted to know that boys have been tested and he would have information to fall back on if he has to decide if a player can play again. Primeau also said if he has a doubt, he errs on the side of caution.

The parents and the players themselves have also become educated in what to look for.

Continue reading "Promoting Concussion Awareness in Hockey" »

A 16-year-old football player from San Jose, CA has been hospitalized since Thanksgiving when he sustained a hairline fracture of his skull during a traditional rival game. According to this article on a cbsSportsline.com website, he required life-saving surgery that day that included placing him into a drug-induced coma. He was in critical condition for one week until doctors took him out of the coma. Doctors say it is too soon to know if neurological damage that the teen sustained will be permanent.

Some of football’s most visible stars have also recently suffered head traumas.

Donovan McNabb, Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner have all experienced head injuries this season.

The head injuries sparked a national awareness about the dangers, complexities and frequency of concussions in football.

According to the article, between 1.6 and 3.8 million sports and recreation related concussions occur annually in the United States or that 12 % of all high school sports injuries involve head trauma. Another 3.5 million concussions that occur annually go undetected.

About 1.2 million youth play football with the chance of a catastrophic neurological disability such as paralysis at 1.65 and death at 0.7 per 100,000.

High school and youth athletes, whose skulls and brains aren’t fully developed, risk serious injury by coming back to soon.

A large portion of the catastrophic head injuries occur following an unsafe amount of time from a previous head injury.

Continue reading "High School Football Player Suffers Head Injury" »

The mother of an Illinois high school football player is suing his football coach and the district. According to an article in USA Today, she claims her son sustained permanent, stroke-causing brain injuries during a game after the linebacker’s complaints of a headache and signs of a concussion went ignored.

The mother has accused the high school coach of recklessly endangering his players by such tactics as contact drills without proper protection.

The lawsuit claims that the coach taunted his players for not playing or complaining of symptoms consistent with concussion.

The mother also claims that the coach created an atmosphere in which injuries were not reported or were underreported.

The suit seeks compensation for at least more than $200,000 the injured player has incurred, as well as at least $50,000 for each of the petition’s four counts.

According to the lawsuit, the football player sustained a broken collarbone in July 2008 when the coach ordered him to tackle a teammate while neither wore protective gear. The other player suffered a broken neck.

Three months after the July injury, during a game the player complained of a headache and showed symptoms of a concussion. He was told by the coach to continue playing. The boy collapsed later in the game on the sidelines after a blood vessel in his brain apparently burst. It caused the 5-foot-11, 190-pound linebacker to have several small strokes and seizures, according to the lawsuit.

The injured football player had to receive Speech and Occupational Therapy and began home-schooling after his injuries.

Continue reading "Illinois High School Football Player's Injuries Draw Lawsuit" »

The Delaware County Times reported that La Salle university will pay $7.5 million to provide lifetime care to 23-year-old former football player who suffered a severe brain injury in a 2005 game, allegedly after an earlier concussion went untreated.

The football player’s family, of Marlboro, N.J., settled their lawsuit against La Salle University on November 30.

The settlement came as the NFL, the NCAA and other governing bodies review rules about when athletes should return to play following concussions. Research suggests that returning too soon can lead to brain damage.

La Salle did not admit wrongdoing with the settlement, which is covered by its insurance.

The young player was injured when he took a hit while covering a punt in a 2005 game at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He was briefly knocked unconscious, then awoke and was combative for three to five minutes before lapsing into a coma.

The article reported that his brain was already contused from a prior concussion. The athlete had emergency surgery in Pittsburgh to relieve brain swelling.

The family claimed that the earlier injury made him more vulnerable to the second, catastrophic blow. La Salle contends the injury stemmed solely from the Duquesne hit.

According to the lawsuit, the young man endured helmet-to-helmet contact in an Oct. 4 practice, and took himself out of the next game in the fourth quarter, complaining of a headache.

Continue reading "La Salle Pays $7.5M Over Football Brain Injury" »

A top executive at TD Bank died of brain injuries on August 7 after falling out of a moving golf cart at a fund-raiser for a NJ high school.

According to this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, a 44-year-old man of Moorestown, NJ was a passenger in the cart at Rancocas County Club Golf Course in Willingboro Township, NJ. He fell out of it and was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

The man was a senior vice president at TD Bank and was helping to raise money for a local high school’s football team.

Police are investigating the incident. The County Medical Examiner confirmed that the man had died of head trauma and that the death was accidental.

The family of the deceased man would be well advised to contact an experienced personal injury attorney. This attorney would be able to identify any negligence or wrongdoing. The accident may have been the result of an unsafe cart, driver error, or defective equipment.

Continue reading "Golfer Dies of Head Injuries after Fall from Cart" »

Natasha Richardson, the Tony Award-winning actress, died at the age of 45 Wednesday from head injuries caused by a fall during a skiing lesson in the Laurentian hills. According to one story, a spokeswoman for the ski resort, Lyne Lortie, said that Ms. Richardson was not wearing a helmet.

“It was a normal fall; she didn’t hit anyone or anything,” Lortie said. “She didn’t show any signs of injury; she was talking and she seemed all right.”

Ms. Richardson was flown from Montreal Tuesday night to the Upper East Side hospital in Manhattan. Her death was announced Wednesday night by Alan Nierob, a spokesman for the actress’s husband, Liam Neeson.

“Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha,” a statement said.

Another report stated that Ms. Richardson’s death has been ruled accidental and was caused by an epidural hematoma due to blunt force trauma to the head.

We are greatly saddened by Ms. Richardson’s death and our deepest regards go out to her family during this difficult time.

Brain injury is most commonly caused by accidents, assaults, and sports injuries. The brain is the most complex area of our bodies and brain injury accidents in Pennsylvania have effects that can impact a person’s quality of life indefinitely.

The skilled Pennsylvania personal injury attorneys at Cherry Fieger Marciano, LLP understand how stressful it can be to face the affects of brain injuries, whether you are an injured victim or a supporting family member. When others act negligently, compensation for medical treatment, pain and suffering, and even punitive damages can be collected in a Philadelphia wrongful death lawsuit against the responsible parties for their part in the brain injury. Call Cherry Fieger Marciano, LLP today for a free consultation.