Dec
26
Depression afflicts nearly met? people who received a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The members of the family who try to help their loved to cope with the physical limitations caused by injury to the brain may help to know fun to deal with mental limitations. What? the best way to help your family member with a TBI? The family? a wound to the brain Victim 's pi? AllyThough great that pu? frustrating to see the amazing aftershocks often wound of brain trauma, it? be important to support your family member brain-damaged. Not only must deal with the effects of daily TBI, which can? understand the changes personalit?, loss of memory, or difficulties? focusing or working, but they must navigate their own family relationships as well. There? Still,? important to recognize that frustration and even a sensitivity? despair? Common among the family members of survivors of TBI. ? normal and thought believe confused, hurt, angry, even depressed because you? strive to help loved who is suffering from brain injury and its effects. A wound to the brain can? frustrate, but? vital that a victim of TBI has a system to support the family. Once a patient is brain injured? released from intensive care, the family becomes in his primary support system and often take the roles of medical care. Studies have shown that a family adaptable? vital to the smooth recovery from traumatic brain injury. There? means that family members should recognize the fact that a change? inevitable and that they must change their procedures to meet the everyday reality? a victim of injury to the brain. There? also means coming – provocative terms with the changes, isolation or the embarrassment of personalit? that can be tested by a member of the family affected brain. As a member of the family of a survivor of TBI, you can sometimes believe powerless to help your beloved. The reality? ? that you can support? be vital to your relative 'quality? s life and the recovery continued. Talk with your family member 'provider of medical s, if possible, find out how you can attend to medical. Touching on a relative with brain damage: Selo SupportThough sure to get that? reveal important for your family member brain-damaged, recognize your own need for support and care. Pu? help to join a support group or study suggests that while there occupied the inevitable changes that accompany the family of the injured brain. The Internet can? also be a good resource for families struggling to find the TBI contribution to the group chat and the edges of message online can be comforting and educational and reach pi? knowledge about your role in your new family member 'lives if a record like this space. Sometimes pu? considered redundant or unnecessary search for the contribution, after all, you 're not a member of the family who are suffering directly from TBI. But in order to be an effective guardian for your beloved hit to the brain,? vital that you yourself feel equipped to deal with everyday life and to get closer to your member of the family of a positive attitude, loving and tolerant. A place to download the anger and disorder or a group of friends informed pu? helping to build bridges on the difference from the daily frustration of a sensitivity? of optimism. Families are effective wound to the brain AdvocatesFeeling as though your efforts to help your brain-damaged loved one aren 't working? Try to act as an advocate for them. With the cognitive changes that come with TBI,? so that easy? victims of traumatic brain injury of fall victim to those who do not respect their rights or do not take their responsibility? Medical seriously. Fortunately, members of the family support system pi? effective for victims of brain injuries. You can help your loved one document their medical care, weigh the important medical decisions and navigate the often confusing terrain of society? insurance, doctors and Social Services. Stay educated and always be positive support in achieving the goals set for your beloved with a wound to the brain. Sometimes? necessary to enlist the help of a lawyer with experience of traumatic brain injury because? try to have meaning of a traumatic brain injury. An effective lawyer wound to the brain can? join forces with a family to ensure a positive outcome and pu? behave on your family 's support as ennobled seek treatment or even monetary damages to cover medical expenses, rehabilitation training or medical care for the future. Together, your lawyer and your family members can form an effective contribution to the survivor of a traumatic brain injury, ensuring that they continue to participate in and contribute to a happy family for years to come.
Dec
13
Does anyone know a good Medical Malpractice Attorney? Must be in TN or a contiguous state?
Filed Under Other - Health | 2 Comments
I currently represent myself (pro se) to preserve my rights but I am not an attorney. I suffered a closed-head injury to the hypothalamus that went undiscovered and the symptoms ignored by Drs when presented. Drs. never evaluated and head, spine , c-spine after traumatic high speed crash. They only treated obvious injuries, i.e. ruptured achilles heel, ruptured hamstrings complete destruction of quadriceps, complete destruction of gluteas maximus muscle, complete separation of sciatic nerves from spine and significant, obvious from CT Scan, frontal impact damage to brain. previous to this accident I weighed 172 lbs and now weigh 96 lbs and continue to have difficulty keeping food/water down, extreme homeostatic temperature changes varies from 89.4 to 104.7, I need help that is beyond my reach. Accident happened 5/5/05 and I need all the help I can get. I do not qualify for Tn Asst. because I am white, single ,have no dependants a category for my position does not exist. Help PLZ
Dec
11
Military Traumatic Brain Injuries
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Those men and women who choose to serve their country in the military unfortunately run a higher risk of incurring a traumatic brain injury (TBI) than those civilians who might be exposed to less risk. One reason for this is that military personnel are under a high risk for being involved in car accidents, which are the most common cause of all TBIs. In addition, military personnel are consistently at risk of being injured by powerful munitions, which can also cause a brain injury through concussive force. Though military service does exposed personnel to the risk of a penetrative brain injury, such as caused by a bullet or shrapnel, an even greater risk exists for a TBI caused by a concussive blast wave as a result of an explosive. The high occurrence of explosions due to improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in combat theaters such as Iraq and Afghanistan means American troops in the field are at a high risk of incurring a TBI.
Afghanistan, Iraq Conflicts a Major Risk Factor for Traumatic Brain Injury
We now know those who have served in Afghanistan or Iraq are at a much higher risk of TBI than combat veterans from previous wars. In the Vietnam War, 14 to 18 percent of all veterans had a brain injury. Today, the Walter Reed Army Medical Center says 31 percent of those admitted between January 2003 and May 2005 had some kind of brain injury. A 2005 study in the New England Journal of Medicine attributed these higher numbers in part to advancements in munitions, especially improvised explosive devices, and in part to improvements in body armor, which protects soldiers from what would previously have been a fatal penetrative wound, but not from a nonfatal blast injury.
Misdiagnosed/Undiagnosed Traumatic Brain Injury in Soldiers
Because the symptoms of a traumatic brain injury often do not appear until weeks after the injury is sustained, it is not uncommon for a TBI to go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. This is especially true when the symptoms of a TBI are subtle, such as a personality change or emotional problems, which are easy for strangers to miss. There does exist some evidence that such symptoms may occasionally be misdiagnosed as pure psychological, or even a result of a soldier’s malingering, partly due to the lack of resources and traumatic brain injury expertise that combat doctors might be forced to deal with.
And as Commander James Dunne, lead trauma surgeon at the National Naval Medical Center, observed at a 2006 summit of military physicians, the long-term consequences of an undiagnosed TBI can be devastating. Those servicemen and women with an undiagnosed brain injury can lose all-too-important treatment time, which can prolong recovery time and possibly cause serious personal complications and setbacks. Because side effects of a traumatic brain injury include behavioral and emotional problems, especially depression, TBIs can hold discharged soldiers back from reintegrating into civilian society or even from continued success in the armed services.
A 1996 medical study showed that a behavior-related discharge from the military was 1.8 times more likely for a TBI patient than for a soldier without a TBI. Difficulties with memory, motor skills and the senses, more common side effects of brain damage, can also affect veterans’ ability to get a job, care for a family or perform other life functions. And without a diagnosis, military TBI patients may be liable for tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of medical bills, on top of lost wages.
Proper helmets and body armor, particularly the newest Kevlar armor, remain the best way to prevent a traumatic brain injury among those who serve in the military. It is also important to have rapid diagnosis and quickly implemented treatment of a TBI to prevent secondary injuries due to the chemical and physical changes to the brain that can accompany a TBI, swelling for example. It can also minimize the cost, both personal and financial, of the injury to the soldier and his or her loved ones. If you believe that you or one of your loved ones might have an undiagnosed service-related TBI, an experienced brain injury attorney can help you get the help and compensation you deserve.
Dec
3
War Veterans and Traumatic Brain Injury
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Katie Kelley inquired:
Each year the number of U.S. veterans increases as soldiers returning from America’s most recent wars come home. However, as the survivors are welcomed home after pursuing a dutiful career serving their country, a new generation of men and women suffering from mild- to severe-traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are greeted with battled medical budgets and flawed TBI technologies, which don’t provide the necessary services and treatments required to improve their newly developed disabilities.
With an average of 1.4 million Americans undergoing some form of TBI, the number of scientists and researchers striving to cure these individuals should be ever increasing, however, dwindling budgets continue to compress and squeeze war-related brain injury funding. In 2006, the U.S. House and Senate slashed the allocated funding for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) in half from the previous year.
Traumatic brain injury has been deemed the “signature” injury of the Iraq war, according to military doctors and experts. It is imperative for struggling soldiers to find assistance with their TBI-related disability.
What is TBI?
Traumatic brain injury is defined as an injury that occurs after an abrupt trauma causes damage to the brain, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). War-related TBI can occur in many ways and individuals suffering from this and related side effects will find symptoms vary on a case-by-case diagnosis.
Researchers and scientists are, however, finding several repetitive conditions and symptoms among TBI victims. The common signs and symptoms of these war-related conditions are as followed, according to a studies published in the medical journals of Neuropsychology and Brain Injury:
* cognitive issues *decreased attention span, including focused, selective and sustained attention problems *language difficulties
* lack of motivation *inability to efficiently process information
* irritability *depression and anxiety
* increased fatigue *headaches *memory loss or disturbance
* behavioral issues
* disrupted sleep
* post traumatic stress disorder
In May 2006, the co-founder of the DVBIC testified to a Senate subcommittee that while “body armor may save troops caught in blasts it leaves many with brain damage,” according to a USA Today news report. Additionally, the article cited several disturbing statistics on the state of TBI and war veterans.
* 10 percent of all troops in Iraq suffer from concussions during combat. * 20 percent of all frontline infantry troops suffer from concussions during combat.
*Scientists believe the Pentagon must screen all troops returning from Iraq.
*The Pentagon has declined screenings for all returning troops and only screen a small population of soldiers.
*If left untreated or untested, multiple head injuries and concussions can cause permanent brain injury.
Also, several equally disturbing statistics have been reported from several specialized journals including Brain Injury, Internal Medicine, Soldiers Magazine, MIT’s Technology Review and Perspectives in Psychiatric Care. These statistics area as follow:
*Nearly 25 percent of all military veterans of the Iraq war are diagnosed with a mental illness.
* War-related TBI patients often manifest distinct personality changes.
* Of the 35,000 soldiers screened for TBI, approximately 11 percent have had symptoms of mild TBI.
* No treatments currently exist to cure long-lasting symptoms of TBI.
Flawed Brain Injury Technology
Unfortunately, as budgets are cut, the quality of care and technology also decreases. Most recently the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed nine Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers and found that the TBI-screening test’s validity and reliability may be flawed.
Additionally, the report found that soldiers with TBI may be receiving inadequate or unnecessary care for their brain injuries, according to an Associated Press article from January 2008. The report found that:
* Although the VA has implemented TBI screening tools, the validity and reliability of the tool has not yet been established.
* The VA has implemented a protocol to ensure soldiers testing positive for TBI are adequately treated; however, many of the VA’s medical facilities either did not follow the protocol or had difficulty doing so.
* Culturally, the VA has found that Iraq veterans feel the VA and its facilities cater to elderly veterans and do not want to treat young veterans.
* The VA is struggling with poor rural access to medical centers as well as poor turnout rates for injured vets who in some cases must drive 100 miles plus to reach a nearby VA hospital.
Living With TBI
Veterans who are currently living with TBI will find that not only does TBI affect them, but the ripple effect among an injured veteran’s family and friends is quite extensive. There are an array of clinical trials that a TBI victim can become involved in to improve the living conditions as well as to treat the symptoms of TBI. Some of these clinical trials can be found through the following organizations Web sites:
* National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke – Brain Resources and Information Network (BRAIN)
* Acoustic Neuroma Association Brain Trauma Foundation
* Brain Injury Association of America Family Caregiver Alliance/National Center on Caregiving National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC)
* National Stroke Association
* National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)
Finding Brain Injury Assistance
There are several organizations available to offer assistance specifically to those with war-related ailments. The following are several of the leading organizations/hospitals:
* Walter Reed Army Medical Center Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center
* Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury
* National Intrepid Center of Excellence Deployment Health Clinical Center
*Center for Study of Traumatic Stress Center for Deployment Psychology
* The Department of Defense (DoD) also offers a search component through their Web site to assist veterans in finding a veteran hospital in their geographic area.
Additionally, individuals enduring the pain of a war-related brain injury are encouraged to locate an experienced traumatic brain injury lawyer who can provide assistance with developing a brain injury lawsuit. Because of the nature of these injuries, there should be no reason why monetary compensation is not rewarded to an injured party.
TBI medical bills can be extremely expensive, and this potential for awarded compensation can provide relief from the stress associated with medical expenses.