Brain Injury Law | Chicago Personal Injury Law Blog - Passen Law Group - Top Chicago, Illinois Personal Injury Lawyers

Archive for the ‘Brain Injury Law’ Category

Encephalomalacia Caused by Head Trauma

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013

Encephalomalacia refers to softening of the brain’s tissue due to hemorrhage or inflammation. It is one of the most serious types of brain injury. It can affect specific parts of the brain, or can be more widespread, and encephalomalacia can lead to complete dysfunction of the part of the brain that is affected.

There are various subtypes of encephalomalacia, and it can affect any age group, and infants in utero. Leukoencephalomalacia affects the white matter of the brain, which is primarily the coating of the neurons, and polioencephalomalacia affects the neurons themselves, or the grey matter.

Encephalomalacia can be caused by stroke, or by severe brain swelling that interrupts cerebral blood flow. Removal of tumors may leave areas of brain softening, but one preventable cause is serious head trauma.

Head Trauma Causing Encephalomalacia

If one suffers a serious head trauma — such as in a motor vehicle accident or fall from a construction site — that person may sustain a severe traumatic brain injury, including encephalomalacia. Signs and symptoms include dizziness, vertigo, ataxia, sleepiness or coma. Encephalomalacia can be diagnosed by stroke or MRI.

It is difficult to treat encephalomalacia. It is not possible to cure, as destroyed brain tissue cannot be regenerated. Treatment consists of detecting the underlying cause and treating it. Severely damaged brain tissue may be removed by surgery. This may, however, contribute to a change in consistency of the surrounding brain tissue. It is difficult to determine if the affected parts of the brain can ever be functional after encephalomalcia has been treated.

Encephalomalacia after head trauma is a serious condition with lifelong consequences and residual disability, or even death from a terminal coma. If you or a loved one has suffered encephalomalacia as the result of head trauma, you may have lifelong medical expenses and lost wages, and most importantly, severe lifelong disability.

If you have suffered brain trauma as the result of someone’s negligence, call Passen Law Group at 312-527-4500 for a Free Evaluation.

Tags: Brain Injury Lawyer, Encephalomalacia
Posted in Brain Injury Law | No Comments »

Study Finds Brain Imaging Can Predict Pain Intensity

Thursday, April 11th, 2013

Pain and suffering is often difficult to measure, even by the most experienced pain specialists. Patients are typically asked to rate their own pain on a scale of 1-10. Although there are objective ways to confirm physical and psychological injuries consistent with pain, the nature and extent of pain is typically measured by the patient’s own subjective self-reporting.

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that brain imaging can be used to objectively assess pain — both physical and emotional pain.

The study involved a total of 114 patients who underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) — a unique and new form of neuroimaging — while being stimulated with heat-induced pain, as well as “social pain.”

What is Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)?

fMRI is a relatively new form of neuroimaging used to measure brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow that occur in response to certain stimuli. fMRI can identify the parts of the brain that are involved in certain mental processes.

fMRI use is controversial, because it is a relatively new neruoimaging technique. However, fMRI can be extremely beneficial to identifying a brain injury in patients who are symptomatic of neurologic dysfunction, yet have “normal” brain scans using typical imaging techniques.

As the above-mentioned study demonstrates, fMRI can also be extremely helpful in identifying pain.

fMRI to Identify Physical and Emotional Pain

The study found that in those patients who were subjected to heat-induced pain while being imaged with fMRI, a “nerologic signature” emerged: increased brain activity in the thalamus, posterior and anterior insulae, secondary somatosensory cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, periaqueductal gray matter, and other regions of the brain.

Even more interesting, the study found that fMRI was helpful in identifying emotional-related pain — related to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or other events that cause emotional pain. When subjecting such patients to “social pain,” the fMRI showed that many of the same brain regions were activated as with physical pain.

In general, the study found fMRI to be over 90% sensitive (or accurate) in identifying physical and emotional pain.

This is a huge breakthrough for pain research and treatment for those with chronic and acute pain — both physical and emotional. Based on this research, new treatment may be developed to focus on these specific areas of the brain that are triggered, rather than on the conventional approach to attempting to block pain impulses from getting into the spinal cord and the brain.

At Passen Law Group, most of our clients have experienced significant pain — both physical and emotional — as a result of serious motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, and other contexts which produce pain. We welcome these new developments addressed at identifying pain, and hopefully leading to beneficial treatment for pain.

For a Free Consultation with one of our attorneys, Call us at 312-527-4500.

Tags: fMRI, Pain and Suffering
Posted in Aviation Liability, Birth Injury Law, Brain Injury Law, Bus Accident Law, Car Accident Law, Child Injury Lawyer, Construction Liability, Latest News, Medical Malpractice, Motorcycle Injury, Nursing Home Neglect, Personal Injury Law, Police Misconduct, Premises Liability, Product Liability, Spinal Cord Injury Law, Toxic Exposure, Train Accident Law, Truck Accident Law, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month

Thursday, March 21st, 2013

This month is Brain Injury Awareness Month, and a good time to talk about traumatic brain injury and its consequences. Traumatic brain injury (TBI), sometimes called “closed head injury,” occurs when an individual experiences a sudden, violent jolt or blow to the head.

Sometimes, TBI occurs from the recoil action when the head is struck, called a “contrecoup” injury, which produces shearing damage to the delicate nerve fibers that make up the brain’s network. Countercoup injuries typically involve damage to areas of the brain opposite to where the blow occurred.

Damage to the brain varies with the severity of the blow. Penetrating trauma to the head is another cause of traumatic brain injury.

TBI is commonly caused by motor vehicle accidents, falls, and other instances of blunt trauma to the head – either unintentional or intentional (acts of violence). Sports injuries are also a common cause of TBI, as highlighted by the recent wave of former NFL players claiming permanent brain damage due to repeated head blows while playing football.

While whiplash occurs in the cervical region of the spine, a similar mechanism can also cause neural damage through shearing mechanisms in the case of violent movement of the head, which may swing backwards in response to a strong force such as a car hitting a tree. Abused infants often suffer from shaken baby syndrome, which is discovered by characteristic findings in their retina. Difficult deliveries may result in traumatic brain injury in the newborn.

The effects of traumatic brain injury vary, and in some cases, a jolt or blow to the head will cause no injury at all. However, if you are suffering from persistent headaches, nausea and vomiting, seizures, altered level of consciousness or inability to awaken from sleep, you must go to the Emergency Department immediately. Other sinister findings include slurred speech, numbness, loss of coordination, dilation of one or both pupils, and agitation. These are signs of an immediate medical emergency, and you must present to the closest Emergency Department.

Treatment of severe traumatic brain injury requires the services of a neurosurgeon, who will work to prevent swelling of the brain in response to the injury. The protective skull is a closed compartment, and there is no space for swelling of the delicate tissues of the brain within the cranial cavity.

If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury, the long term consequences may be significant and may include severe neurologic deficits, problems with memory and attention, loss of control over motor functions, confusion, fatigue, cognitive impairment and emotional lability, or mood swings. Recovery after prolonged loss of consciousness results in a poorer prognosis, and often involves months of intense rehabilitation, usually in a special facility with a multi-disciplinary team. The goal is to recover lost brain function, or to allow a healthy part of the brain begin to compensate for the region of injury.

Although minor blows or injuries to the head may result in a mild concussion, or mild TBI, defined by loss of consciousness or confusion and disorientation for less than 30 minutes, usually with no need for hospitalization, these injuries can have significant consequences lasting months to a year. There may be no findings on imaging studies. There is evidence that post-concussive syndromes may include frequent migraine headaches, depression, and loss of cognitive function. You should always be evaluated by a neurologist in the case of onset of any unusual symptoms after a blow to the head.

If your injury or that of a family member was caused by the negligence of another person, or through criminal misdeed, you may have recourse to compensation for your injuries. It is important that you document any changes and deficits that you notice in your level of functioning, so that you can better describe to both medical and legal professionals any detrimental changes you have suffered as a result of your head injury.

Posted in Brain Injury Law | No Comments »

Brain Injury Without a Concussion

Sunday, November 25th, 2012

Many people assume that, so long as an impact to the head is not severe enough to cause a concussion, no permanent damage is done to the brain. However, a new study of professional soccer players has revealed that repetitive blows, even when minor, can cause permanent brain injury. Our Chicago brain injury attorneys hope that the knowledge gained from this study will help doctors and scientists to understand the nature of brain injury and learn to combat it.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at brain scans from twelve professional soccer players and twelve swimmers in Germany. What they found was that the players’ brains closely resembled those of victims of brain injury, despite the fact that they had not suffered a concussion or more severe brain injury.

Specifically, the white matter in the players’ brains contained water molecules moving in a randomized, diffuse pattern, rather than a straight line. This means that the brain tissue had been damaged, and thus was no longer able to contain and direct the water molecules. The changes were present in the parts of the brain controlling memory, higher thinking and reasoning, attention, and visual processing. The brains of the swimmers, by contrast, had no such problem.

The incidence of brain injury in contact sports such as football and hockey has been well-documented and studied, leading doctors to a greater understanding of how brain trauma causes injury. This new line of inquiry should help doctors to study and understand how repetitive minor collisions can lead to major damage – and by observing the damage slowly occur, study more closely how the mechanics of brain injury occur.

For a free consultation with an experienced Chicago brain injury lawyer at Passen Law Group, call us at (312) 527-4500.

Posted in Brain Injury Law | No Comments »

Football Helmet Research Furthers Brain Injury Understanding

Wednesday, November 14th, 2012

football brain injury Football Helmet Research Furthers Brain Injury Understanding As understanding and awareness of the risk of concussions and more severe traumatic brain injuries grows, fans’ appreciation of the sound of football helmets colliding shrinks. But thanks to researchers at the Naval Academy, this cracking sound may be the source of new information about how brain injuries occur, and how to prevent and treat them in athletes, soldiers, and ordinary citizens.

Researchers in the physics department at Annapolis oversaw the study, which was inspired by the observation that the “crack” of two helmets meeting means that the collision occurred rapidly – and that the energy transferred from one head to another was thus very large. The researchers are among the first to study brain injuries from a physics perspective, rather than using a medical approach.

The researchers did not want to conduct a study on people – risking severe injuries – so instead chose to research using the helmets themselves. They filled the helmets with synthetic materials designed to mimic the head, skull, brain, and surrounding fluid. The materials included a thin polycarbonate hoop simulating the skull, porous plastic foam to simulate the fluid surrounding the brain, and a brass cylinder inside the foam to simulate the brain itself.

The researchers then used sophisticated motion sensors called accelerometers to measure the force of collisions, which they created by the simple expedient of hanging the helmets from clotheslines and swinging them towards each other. They also used oscilloscopes to track the vibrations and reverberations when the helmets collided.

They learned that each successive layer vibrated or “rung” with less intensity, and for a shorter period of time – the helmet, the skull, and the brain each decreasing the impact.

While this information may seem academic, our experienced brain injury attorneys believe it could have impressive practical significance. The results of the study suggested that injuries could be reduced if a layer of padding or foam were added to the outside of helmets – both athletic and military. This would decrease the impact before the force of the collision reaches the hard layer of the helmet, and thus further decrease the impact at each subsequent layer. Sports fans know that this would also reduce the temptation which football players currently have to use their helmet as a weapon.

We hope that researchers will continue to study brain injuries from all perspectives: medical and otherwise. These differing perspectives will together help to increase our understanding of brain injuries, leading to better prevention and treatment.