Brain Injury Law Blog : Head Injury : Coma : Personal Injury : Las Vegas Nevada Lawyer & Attorney Tim Titolo

This recent case illustrates why it is so important to get the right representation as early as possible.

In Granado v Mann, Samantha Granado, 19, was traveling in the front passenger seat of a car driven by 18-year-old Tessa Graves. Graves ran a red light at an intersection and was struck by a newspaper delivery truck.  Clearly Samantha, the passenger did nothing to cause the collision or her injury.  

Her lawyer however realized that the driver was inexperienced and should not have been allowed to drive at night.  The parents of the driver negligently entrusted the car to their daughter.  This legal theory extends liability to the parents for their own separate negligence. 

Here the fault free passenger, Granado, suffered a traumatic brain injury, broken ribs, and a fractured spine, among other injuries. She required hospitalization and physical therapy and incurred medical expenses totaling $152,000. A student, she suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and cognitive impairment that have prevented her from maintaining employment.

The parties were able to settle the case for $1.75 Million.

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 Cate Newton sent this great post. http://www.medical-assistant.net/alzheimers-resources concerning Alzheimer's.  She asked that I share it with my readers.  Here is part of it.

Quick Facts

• The human brain changes over time, but the abnormal occurrence of plaques and tangles is a sign of dementia-related disorders. While scientists do not know the exact connection between these abnormalities and Alzheimer’s, they do understand that nerve cells are being blocked, causing memory loss and other cognitive disabilities (Alzheimer’s Association).
• Alzheimer’s usually affects older victims, especially those over 60. The disease slowly progresses, affecting thought, memory, and language in subtle then more apparent ways (Medline Plus).
• More than 5 million Americans are currently affected by Alzheimer’s and are expected to reach 15 million by 2050. These numbers reach greater proportions internationally, with a current 26 million affected by the disease and a 106 million predicted by 2050 (Alzheimer’s Disease Research).
• Women are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than men because women tend to have longer life expectancies and hence are more vulnerable to aging-related diseases (Women’s HealthCare Forum).
• Genetics is only one of the factors that contributes to Alzheimer’s. While researchers do not know what exactly causes Alzheimer’s, there has been scientific evidence linking four chromosomes to the disease: 1, 14, 18, and 21 (WebMD).

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The Brain Injury Association of America has asked me to send this update along to my readers.

Appropriations Update

 On Thursday, March 17, 2011, the Senate cleared a sixth stopgap measure set to expire on April 8, 2011. Going forward, House and Senate leaders will engage in talks to negotiate government funding for the rest of the fiscal year. BIAA is monitoring the situation closely and will alert grassroots advocates if any action becomes necessary.

This week, BIAA met with Senate Appropriations staff to advocate for increased funding for programs authorized through the TBI Act in 2012. BIAA will continue to follow up on this request as well as meet with the House Appropriations staff in the near future.

Sports and Concussion

On March 16, 2011, U.S. Representatives Bill Pascrell, Jr. and Todd Russell Platts, as well as U.S. Senator Tom Udall introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at protecting youth athletes from the dangers of sports-related traumatic brain injuries. BIAA endorsed the legislation and provided technical assistance during the writing of the bill.

The Children’s Sports Athletic Equipment Safety Act would ensure that new and reconditioned football helmets for high school and younger players meet safety standards that address concussion risk and the needs of youth athletes. The bill also increases potential penalties for using false injury prevention claims to sell helmets and other sports equipment.

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 Good News to Migraine sufferers!  Relief may be a surgery away.

New evidence reveals Surgery to "deactivate" migraine headaches produces lasting good results.  Nearly 90 percent of patients have at least partial relief at five years' follow-up, reports a study in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS)

And what is even  better is In about 30 percent of patients, migraine headaches were completely eliminated after surgery, according to the new study, led by Dr. Bahman Guyuron of Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic.

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The Brain Injury Association of America and the Center for Neuro Skills and Lakeview Neurorehabilitation Centers & Specialty Hospital, request I forward this update. 

Appropriations Update

On Friday, March 11, 2011, the House Appropriations Committee will unveil a three-week continuing resolution (CR) that will extend FY10 funding through April 8, 2011. The current CR is set to expire on March 18, 2011. The bill would make some relatively non-controversial spending cuts, totaling about $6 billion dollars in savings.

BIAA is monitoring the situation closely and working with the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force to make sure that FY2011 appropriations will look favorably on brain injury programs. BIAA is also engaging with both Senate and House Appropriations Committees in preparation for FY2012 appropriations work.

Brain Injury Awareness Day 2011

This year, brain injury awareness day on Capitol Hill will be held on Wednesday, March 16, 2011. As in years past, there will be an awareness fair, briefing and reception. The full schedule for the day is as follows:

10:00 am – 1:00 pm Brain Injury Awareness Fair,
First Floor Foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building

1:30 pm – 3:30 pm Briefing: Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Re-Entry: Lessons Learned and the Road Ahead
Rayburn Gold Room
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Reception Celebrating Brain Injury Awareness Month
First Floor Foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building

For those who are attending, please stop by BIAA’s exhibit in the Rayburn foyer to pick up leave-behind materials for your Congressional visits!

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One of the most disconcerting realities of Traumatic Brain Injury is getting the care covered by most insurance.  What we as a nation are seeing for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is not what normally occurs.

ABC did a piece on how insurance companies deny coverage for treatiment of traumatic brain injury.  Check it out here.

While Giffords is getting top-flight care at a facility that specializes in rehabilitation after major brain injuries, many patients get nothing close to it. The fine print in many health plans -- including Medicare and Tricare, which serves U.S. military members -- excludes coverage of certain types or even complete rehabilitation for thousands of patients with traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs.

...the Brain Injury Association of America, a non-profit group that advocates on behalf of people with brain injuries, says studies have shown that cognitive rehab is very effective.

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The Las Vegas Review Journal did a piece on concussion in contact sports.  Education is key.  Learn the risks and how to prevent injury.

...concussions, when sudden trauma causes damages to the brain, are a common injury to the head in contact sports, and an estimated 3 million sports-related concussions happen every year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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This is the latest from the Brain Injury Association of America: 

BIAA Unveils 2011 Legislative Fact Sheets

This week, BIAA released it 2011 legislative fact sheets highlighting critical public policy issues for people with brain injury including access to care, research, TBI Act appropriations and reauthorization, military, and membership in the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force. BIAA is excited to move forward these priorities in the 112^th Congress!

Appropriations Update

On Wednesday, March 2, 2011, President Obama avoided a government shutdown by signing into law a two week extension of the current continuing resolution that was set to expire today. The measure keeps the government running through March 18, 2011.

Today, March 4, 2011, Senate Democrats released a proposal for a $6.5 billion cut from current spending levels, a modest reduction compared with the before released Republican proposal. The Senate is expected to hold a series of test votes next week on both Democratic and Republican spending plans.

BIAA will continue to monitor the situation closely and alert grassroots advocates if action becomes necessary.

Brain Injury Awareness Day 2011

This year, brain injury awareness day on Capitol Hill will be held on Wednesday, March 16, 2011. As in years past, there will be an awareness fair, briefing and reception. The full schedule for the day is as follows:

10:00 am – 1:00 pm   Brain Injury Awareness Fair,

                                       First Floor Foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building

1:30 pm – 3:30 pm     Briefing: Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Re-Entry: Lessons Learned  and the Road Ahead

Location to be Determined

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm     Reception Celebrating Brain Injury Awareness Month

                                       First Floor Foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building

BIAA is committed to helping the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force plan a successful event around the importance of rehabilitation in recovery. Look for a special edition of Policy Corner early next week detailing the speaker list for the briefing. 

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 An article in the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology reveals that mild traumatic brain injury was evaluated using the Meyers Neuropsychological Battery (MNB). Standard traditional batteries include the Halstead-Reitan and Luria Nebraska. The MNB contained embedded Symptom Validity Tests (SVT). These tests are given to test takers to gauge effort and malingering (faking). The MNB uses nine embedded SVTs. The results reveal that involvement in litigation correlated with failed efforts.

The purpose of this study was to identify whether poor performance on embedded SVTs also results in poor performance on other neuropsychological tests.

“Internal and add-on Symptom Validity Tests (SVTs) are quite commonly used in neuropsychological assessments to objectively evaluate diminished effort (Larrabee, 2003,2008; Meyers & Volbrecht, 2003). In fact, the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology recommends explicit evaluation of symptom validity (Heilbronner et al., 2009). In addition, The National Academy of Neuropsychology presented a position paper on the use of SVTs (Bush et al., 2005), which specifically recommends administration of at least two SVTs in an evaluation.”

In cases of mild traumatic brain injury, the study reveals that the lower the loss of consciousness, the milder the impairments. This is especially troubling to that “miserable minority” or 15% of mTBI with significant functional compromise.

I point this study out to my readers to help us all appreciate that proving a mild traumatic brain injury is tough, and a defense funded industry is making it even tougher. You absolutely need an experienced traumatic brain injury attorney to assist you with your case. Be sure your attorney reads the latest articles and studies on issues pertaining to traumatic brain injury.

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