Michigan brain injury attorney discusses a real example of living with a concussion, and how diffuse axonal injury can harm a car accident victim

As a traumatic brain injury attorney for almost 20 years, and one who speaks to other lawyers both in Michigan and nationally on the subject of representing people with brain injuries, it never fails to anger me  how defense insurance lawyers and insurance companies knowingly/fraudulently defend car accident TBI/brain injury cases by making junk science arguments.

Michigan brain injury lawyer dispels common defense and IME myths in car accident TBI cases

Recently one of the largest studies to date was released on the connection between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the increased risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease later in life.

The study will be helpful for  traumatic brain injury lawyers.  I write this because lately, one of the hot TBI defenses du jour from many of the more notorious defense doctors — hired by insurance companies to perform one-time evaluations (also called IMEs), and then write reports and testify in personal injury lawsuits — has been that a person cannot be of increased risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s unless the TBI is severe.  This study, released at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in France, clearly proves otherwise.

Ironic and tragic loss illustrates why Michigan must keep its motorcycle helmet law

Today I want to share a tragic story that clearly illustrates the reason we need to keep our helmet law requirement in Michigan. According to CNN, a motorcyclist riding without a helmet at a rally protesting mandatory helmet laws, was killed in a motorcycle accident.

Philip A. Contos, 55 was on a ride organized by the American Bikers Aimed Towards Education (ABATE) against helmet laws. He hit his brakes, fishtailed and lost control of his Harley Davidson. He shot over the handlebars, hit his head on the pavement and was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Contos died of a traumatic brain injury from his head striking the ground without a motorcycle helmet.

TBI attorney says if Michigan’s No-Fault benefits system is dismantled by law change, brain injury victims like Juliana Ramos would be left without medical care and attendant care

Every year for the past decade, millions of Americans  tune in to listen and vote for their favorite singer on American Idol. My daughter takes over the television and demands to stay up late (she’s still very upset about Pia being voted off). But this year, it was the story of a contestant who didn’t make the final cut that caught the attention of the judges, viewers and our traumatic brain injury attorneys.

Traumatic brain injury lawyer stresses that TBI is a public health crisis,  calls for more resources  to treat and prevent brain injury

I was recently asked to give a presentation to lawyers who handle traumatic brain injury cases.  As I started to update the  statistics from the last traumatic brain injury lawyer presentation I did last year, I was really surprised to find these new statistics:

1. Over 765,000 American youth enter an emergency department every year with a traumatic brain injury.

2. That makes it one American every 40 seconds going to a hospital emergency room with a brain injury.

A Michigan TBI lawyer discusses one woman’s story of being on the brink of death - because her doctors failed to diagnose her brain injury properly

I read a compelling personal story called The Calm Before the Brain Injury was Discovered.  We simply assume that medicine and science are up to the task, when in reality many injuries, and especially  traumatic brain injury, are often completely missed, ignored, or discounted by medical doctors - at tremendous cost.  Anyone who  has been frustrated with a doctor and how medicine treats perceived “mild” to “moderate” traumatic brain injury as well as even serious TBI will understand the personal journey this woman went through.

Michigan TBI attorney warns auto accident victims who have suffered traumatic brain injury about a popular insurance medical examiner

On Tuesday, I wrote about the havoc “independent” medical examiners are bringing to car accident victims and the No-Fault insurance system in Michigan. Which brings me now to John Baker, Ph.D. This man is a neuropsychologist in Oakland County (Royal Oak), who is often hired by auto insurance companies for “second opinion” defense examinations of injured car accident victims who have suffered traumatic brain injuries.

Michigan traumatic brain injury lawyer discusses the promise of blood biomarkers for TBI victims

I read an article in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal that promises hope to traumatic brain injury victims and survivors and the TBI lawyers who help them in America’s courtrooms.

The article is a must read for any lawyer who represents people who have suffered traumatic brain injury.  What makes the article notable is that it discusses how serious traumatic brain injuries can be, how difficult TBI is to diagnose, how emergency rooms and doctors often miss many of the subtle symptoms of TBI, and how this delay in diagnosis leads both to improper treatment and sometimes catastrophic consequences for accident victims who have suffered serious closed-head injuries.

Why experienced motorcycle accident lawyers urge representatives to vote no on a bill that would allow bikers to go without helmets

Today, the Michigan Legislature takes up House Bill 4747. Basically, the bill lets motorcyclists legally ride without a helmet. As a lawyer helping motorcyclists who’ve suffered serious personal injuries for the past 16 years, I believe HB4747 is a terrible idea.

Currently, Michigan law requires all people riding a motorcycle, and anyone less than 19 years old operating a moped on a public thoroughfare, to wear a crash helmet. The Michigan Department of State Police has been given the legislative responsibility to approve crash helmets and to implement this law. Here, you can read more about the current Michigan helmet law.

Both lawyers Brian Bornstein and my friend from Texas, Steve Laird, recently commented on my observations about the critical connection between traumatic brain injury and chronic pain in The Jury Expert. It is a connection that most personal injury lawyers miss.

The Jury Expert is an online litigation advocacy publication. The article that started the discussion is Injured Body, Injured Mind: Dealing with Damages for Psychological Harm. It addressed the double standard with respect to the law’s treatment of physical versus psychological injury. I had originally commented that there’s not only a double standard between physical and psychological injury, but in most serious personal injury cases, that line becomes blurred. Science has now shown that injury to the mind affects the body, and likewise, injury to the body affects the mind.