Head & Brain Injuries

• Another Former NFL Star Says, "There's Something Wrong With My Brain"

  Michael Phelan | February 02, 2007 9:16 AM | 2 CommentsRichmond, VA

  Middle linebacker, Ted Johnson, was the captain of the New England Patriots in 1998 and 2003, and helped the Pats win three Super Bowls before retiring in 2005. According to a story in the New York Times, Mr. Johnson now forgets people's names, misses appointments and...can become so terrified of the outside world that he locks himself alone inside his Boston apartment in bed with the blinds...

• Cantor Arkema Prevails in Brain Injury Ruling

  Aubrey Ford | January 25, 2007 7:54 AM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  Aubrey Ford served as lead counsel in a case pending in the Augusta County Circuit Court involving a brain injury suffered by the infant of a police officer employed by the City of Waynesboro. Augusta County Circuit Court Judge Wood ruled in favor of the infant in a very complex ruling on sovereign immunity. The case involved the serious traumatic brain injury suffered by the fetus of the...

• Suicide by Former NFL Player Linked to Brain Injuries

  Michael Phelan | January 18, 2007 9:44 AM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  Sports fans were shocked to learn last November that hard-hitting former Eagles safety, Andre Waters, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. The New York Times reports today that Mr. Waters's brain has been examined by Dr. Bennet Omalu, a leading forensic neuropathologist, who concluded that Mr. Waters sustained strong>brain damage > from playing football which led to his depression...

• Case "Vignette" Published in New England Journal of Medicine Contains Outdated Theories Concerning Concussion

  Michael Phelan | January 12, 2007 1:00 AM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  The January 11, 2007 issue of the NEJM contains a "case vignette" entitled, Concussion. Ostensibly, a case study about a 64 year old woman who fell on ice and hit her head on a sidewalk, the article reads like an HMO-authored attack on the alleged overuse of CT scanning. The article relies on outdated research and offers medical conclusions that have been long debunked. For example, the...

• ABC Iraq War News Journalist, Bob Woodruff, to Discuss His Severe Head and Brain Injuries in Prime-Time

  Michael Phelan | January 11, 2007 10:53 AM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  A little over one year after suffering severe head and brain injuries that he sustained while covering the war in Iraq, ABC news journalist, Bob Woodruff, has agreed to tell his story in a prime-time television program entitled, To Iraq and Back: Bob Woodruff Reports. Mr. Woodruff and his wife are also publishing a memoir which will discuss how they and their family were effected by his severe...

• Brain Injury Victims Need Cognitive Rehabilitation

  Michael Phelan | January 08, 2007 11:18 AM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  Today's edition of the Wall Street Journal features a front page story disussing the benefits of cognitive rehabilitation to victims of traumatic brain injury and the difficulty most victims have in getting their health insurance companies to pay for such crucial treatment. This article coincides with the publication today of a position paper from the Brain Injury Association of America...

• The Effects of Brain Injury

  Staff Writer | July 05, 2006 11:22 AM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  In my practice, I see the effects of traumatic brain injury. Unfortunately, many times certain symptoms of brain injury have gone completely undiagnosed by the attending physicians. Initially, emergency and rescue is usually called to the scene to treat life threatening conditions that may be present. Then, the injured party may be taken to the hospital, where they are treated for certain...

• Virginia Legislators Are Inconsistent in Trying to Reduce Insurance Rates

  Staff Writer | February 13, 2006 2:11 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  I put myself through law school by selling Harley Davidson motorcycles in Virginia Beach, Virginia. At the shop, I would regularly hear riders complain about restrictions and helmet laws. They even wore tattoos that said "Live Free or Die". However, motorcycle helmet laws continued to be enforced and provide safety protection for riders. This past week, we saw a Virginia delegate continue to...

• Do NFL Players Suffer Long-Term Effects of Brain Injury?

  Staff Writer | January 31, 2006 5:09 PM | 0 CommentsRichmond, VA

  The NFL, head injury and depression again collided, with the news that former Steelers lineman, Terry Long, had committed suicide by drinking antifreeze. Initially, Medical Examiner, Dr. Simon Wecht listed the death as accidental. Thereafter, he amended his report to reflect that the death was by suicide. Dr. Bennett Omalu, a neuropathologist at the medical examiners office, further stated that...