Chicago Injury Blog

We all know that skiing, sledding and skating are fun, healthy winter sports, but they have the potential to cause severe personal injuries unless proper safety precautions are practiced. Common injuries from falls include sprains and muscle strains, dislocations, fractures and even brain injuries.
The U.S. Product Safety Commission reports that in 2010, more than 440,000 people were treated in hospitals, doctors’ offices and emergency rooms for winter sports-related injuries.  Snow skiing and snowboard injuries accounted for the greatest number of injuries. Sledding and tobogganing were third followed by ice skating.
As part of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’(AAOS) on-going Prevent Injuries America!® Campaign, the organization urges children and adults to consider these winter sports injury prevention tips before braving the snow:

• Check the weather for snow and ice conditions prior to heading outdoors. Pay attention to warnings about upcoming storms and severe drops in temperature to ensure safety while outdoors.
• Dress for the occasion. Wear several layers of light, loose and water- and wind-resistant clothing for warmth and protection.  Also, wear appropriate protective gear, including goggles, helmets, gloves and padding. Also, check that all equipment, such as ski and snowboard bindings, is in good working order.
• Never participate alone in a winter sport. If possible, skiers and snowboarders should ski with a partner and stay within sight of each other. Consider carrying a cell phone in case of an emergency.
• Skiers and snowboarders should observe all marked hazard and trail signs, and should never venture into closed areas. You also should respect designated slow skiing and family areas and never ski in the trees alone.
• Avoid sledding near or on public streets. Sledding should be done only in designated and approved areas where there are no obstacles on the sledding path. Speeding down hills in parks that are not designed for sledding puts you at risk to be hit by cars and trucks, or to slam into parked vehicles, curbs and fences.
• Keep in shape and condition muscles before partaking in winter activities. If over the age of 50, it may be wise to have a medical check-up prior to participating in a winter sport.
• Learn how to fall correctly to avoid injury. Take a lesson (or several) from a qualified instructor, especially in sports like skiing and snowboarding, to learn how to fall correctly. Falling techniques aim to protect your vulnerable body parts.
• Avoid participating in sports when you are in pain or exhausted. Many skiers are injured on the final, “one last run.”  If tired, call it a day.

Many of my friends and colleagues know that I chose personal injury law as a profession because of the traumatic brain injury my best friend in high school suffered playing football.

Due in part to the impact of that incident and my growing knowledge of how dangerous a sport football is, I refused to let my son, now in college, play high school football. The last thing I wanted was for him to be so talented that he would become a professional football player.

A story in the December issue of Sports Illustrated backs up that assumption. The magazine checked on the members of the 1986 Cincinnati Bengals and found that many of the players suffered crippling aches, pains and disabilities that ranged from nagging to crippling.  The magazine reported that the average player has three body parts that hurt them on a daily basis.

All but two of the players said they had suffered at least one concussion (translate: brain injury) during their careers. One player said that if his barber asks him to turn his head, he had to move his entire body, too. Another said that his left pinkie goes both “east and west.” Yet another stated that even surgery on his elbow wouldn’t correct the way it bends.

Here’s the catch.  Most of them said it was worth it.  Yes, you read this right.

That’s football for you, with its play through the pain macho mentality. To their credit, however, many former players are now discussing their experiences in the hopes of making the game safer for kids and professionals alike.

While that’s good news for parents, it’s hard to imagine that game will ever really be safe. Better equipment and new safety rules aren’t enough. All you need to do is watch an NFL football game, and you’ll understand. All those hits that make us cringe will probably, sadly, catch up with those players in middle age.

We've written a lot about brain injuries in professional sports. Some of it has been critical of players themselves – often football players – who continue to play despite repeated concussions. The long-term effects of repeated blows to the head have led some sports superstars to suffer severe depression, and even worse, commit murder or suicide.

Today, we'd like to tell you about two professional athletes who suffered multiple concussions and had the courage to leave the sport they loved and find another career.

Chicago area native Chris Nowinski played football at Harvard and was a professional wrestler whose career was cut short by concussions. After leaving professional sports, he founded the Sports Legacy Institute, in Boston, which has been studying the degenerative brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

His organization has joined with the Illinois Eye Institute Foundation and the Chicago Concussion Coalition to educate about 2,000 Chicago Public Schools coaches. Nationally, some 5,000 coaches have attended their workshops. Representatives have also spoken before 6,000 youngsters, mostly in the Boston area, but they plan to conduct more presentations in Chicago.

Former pro football player Ben Utecht, who was on the Indianapolis Colts team that beat the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl in 2007, walked away from the sport after five concussions and into a new career – singing.

This fall and winter, he's touring with the Jim Brickman Christmas Celebration Tour which will stop in Rockford, Illinois, on December 31. He cut an album of inspirational music and worked with a vocal coach in Nashville before eventually hooking up with Brickman's group.

We commend Nowinski and Utecht, who are true heroes for walking away from the sports they loved and into another career and lifestyle. Let's hope that the next generation of ballplayers takes note, and that they, too, walk away before it's too late.

With all the advances in medicine and treatment, one would hope that great strides have been made for treating traumatic brain injury (TBI).  We were disappointed with the results of a recent study showing the techniques to restore brain-damaged people are elusive.

The Institute of Medicine at the U.S. State Department recently issued a 250-page report prepared by 14 experts, showing that treatments for TBI symptoms such as clouded thinking, inarticulate speech, poor planning, bad moods, difficulties holding a job, and family conflict, aren’t that simple.

The report – a scientific review of “cognitive rehabilitation therapy” – was prepared as a way to answer questions about how best to treat TBI victims who suffered their injuries on the battlefield. Since late last year, 196,000 men and women in the military have been diagnosed with TBI since the year 2000.

Early on, about 65 percent of the cases were mild (the military calls them concussions), but the rest were in the moderate to severe category when a person lost consciousness for more than 30 minutes and had mental confusion and memory loss lasting more than a day. Though the number of combat related brain injuries has risen steadily over the past 10 years, their severity has fallen. Today, about 80 percent are considered mild with a full recovery expected in most cases.

Though wars and football-related injuries have put brain injuries on the map, the problem is old. About 1.7 million Americans suffer a brain injury each year that requires medical treatment. Furthermore, about 52,000 die and about 125,000 suffer long-term consequences.

Therapists’ opinions vary on what cognitive rehabilitation therapy (CRT) means and how it should be addressed. There is no known CRT specialty with its own licensing system. Some believe that internal strategies can be used to remember things, while others favor external strategies like calendars, notebooks, and electronic devices. The panel that conducted the study found modest evidence, suggesting the usefulness of three months of week or twice-weekly meetings of brain-injury patients to work on social communications skills.

A couple of recent studies about young athletes and brain injuries caught our attention.

The first one came as no surprise to those of us concerned about making sports safer for kids. The number of reported traumatic brain injuries in youth athletes increased by 60 percent in the last decade. Whether that's because of heightened awareness among parents and coaches is anyone's guess, but the fact is, the number soared from 153,375 in 2001 to 248,418 in 2009, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The sports that caused the most injuries?  Riding bikes, football, playground activities, basketball and soccer, according to the report. Though it's not at the top of the list, we know that brain trauma and other serious injuries caused when kids use metal baseball bats is a serious threat to youth safety. For several years now, we've advocated for a ban on the use of metal baseball bats by youth leagues.

The second study, by Methodist Hospital Concussion Center in Houston, reports that testing young athletes' thinking and memory skills in a group setting at the beginning of the season may not be as accurate as doing the tests individually.

The tests are important because when a young athlete receives a head injury, doctors often compare post-injury scores with earlier ones to determine when athletes have recovered and are ready to play.

Because group tests are quicker and cheaper, high schools often use that method. But it's better for students to receive the group baseline test than no test at all, according to the study. In a group setting, schools should try to make testing rooms as distraction-free as possible. Athletes should be spaced apart at computers, and they shouldn't be tired when taking the tests.

Did Chicago Bears great Walter Payton have a serious brain injury – one that was never really diagnosed and acknowledged? Did some of the moves he made as a running back on the field contribute to a dark side that led him to have suicidal tendencies, depression and an addiction to painkillers?

Through our law practice, we know all too well the causes and effects of brain injuries.  It comes as no surprise to us that there are questions swirling around the release of a new book by sportswriter Jeff Pearlman in Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton. Why didn't Pearlman address whether Payton, who died in 1999 from liver cancer, suffered from CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy)?

Some have called for Payton's body to be exhumed and his brain studied to determine if he had a brain injury.  That probably won't happen, and it may not be necessary. Think about it. The guy had 3,838 carries during his career. That's more than enough hits to have a long-term effect.

The Walter we knew, loved and admired had a sweet side. He was a charmer, a prankster and by all accounts, a good dad. He also had a dark side that is only now beginning to surface. He fathered a child out of wedlock, and could throw an occasional temper tantrum, dispelling the myth that he had no flaws.

After he retired at age 33, his life began spinning out of control. He wondered aloud if life was worth living, but Walter would never have sought therapy. No way. It probably never occurred to him.

When all is said and done, what emerges from the book is a brilliant football player with an Achilles heel. He was human and, like all of us, had human failings. What we learn about him is disappointing, but on some level, we understand. We feel compassion for a man who had so much, who gave so much, but who was haunted by demons until the very end.

An increasing number of Illinois high school football players who have suffered concussions on the field are not playing this year – at the advice of their doctors.  We applaud the brave decision of these young athletes and their parents, who have opted to forego the sport they love – and one that could pave the way for a college scholarship – to take the time for their injuries to heal.

Their decision comes in the wake of a new Illinois law requiring any high school athletes who shows signs of a concussion to be cleared by a medical professional before going back on the field.  A recent Chicago Tribune story noted that many schools had already adopted policies requiring athletes to pass a series of tests evaluating their brain functions before and after injury.

Illinois was the 28th state to pass a concussion law, backed by standards that are endorsed by brain injury advocacy groups and pediatricians.  Some star athletes, including former Chicago Bear Dave Duerson, suffered untimely deaths as the result of brain trauma from the sport. Brain injuries can cause symptoms such as headaches, irritability, forgetfulness, and as in the case of Duerson, an early death.

Today, schools regularly test young athletes who have suffered a concussion. It’s become the norm, even in states where there are no laws mandating testing.  Statistics by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention show that the number of emergency room visits for sports-related concussions between 1997 and 2007 doubled in the age 8-13 group, and not just football but soccer and even cheerleading.

It’s not that there are more concussions, but that there’s a heightened awareness by parents, teachers and coaches are the reason, experts say.  Instead of a coach holding up two fingers to gauge whether there’s a serious injury, there’s now a battery of tests for injured athletes. Schools now tout their state-of-the-art helmets and other equipment designed to protect players.

In the end, so much depends on the coaches, experts believe.  The “no pain-no gain” mantra, while still the norm for some coaches, is slowly becoming an expression of the past.

While a great deal of attention has focused on concussions caused by football injuries, studies show that women may be at even greater risk because of their smaller frames and neck muscles. Furthermore, women can take longer to heal, especially if they are of child-bearing age.

Concussions -- when the brain shakes around in the skull -- are serious no matter which sex or what age you are. Over one million people get concussions every year, though most of them mild. Another half million suffer severe concussions.

Recognizing the symptoms of a concussion is critical. If you have a headache, are dizzy, have trouble concentrating, are bothered by bright lights and noise, and have memory loss, you may have a mild concussion, so contact your doctor. He or she will make the decision about whether you should come in for neurological tests or go directly to the hospital for more extensive testing.

If the symptoms are even more severe and include temporary loss of consciousness, vomiting, trouble speaking, numbness in your limbs, get yourself to an emergency room. A CT scan may be used to assess whether you have a brain bleed like a hematoma that could lead to death.

There's only one cure for a concussion: physical and mental rest. Doctors advise patients not to engage in physical exercise and push themselves mentally. They also advise not taking aspirin or ibuprofen because they can lead to brain bleeds. Instead, take acetaminophen or put ice on your head. With proper care, most head injuries improve within a month.

The key to long-term recovery is to stay alert to any symptoms for weeks or even months after the injury, doctors say.

Romanucci & Blandin, in Chicago, applauds recommendations made by the American Academy of Pediatrics to rename the diagnostic term “shaken baby syndrome” to “abusive head trauma,” which it calls a more comprehensive diagnosis for brain, skull and other injuries inflicted on infants. The new term, which should be used in medical records, may provide more clarity in the courtroom, they say.

This serious and clearly definable form of child abuse results from extreme rotational cranial acceleration induced by violent shaking or shaking/impact. Greater attention and resources should be devoted to prevention of abusive injuries, according to the Academy, which noted that head injuries are the leading cause of traumatic death and the leading cause of child abuse fatalities.

Attorneys at Romanucci & Blandin have learned that Tony-award winning actress Natasha Richardson may have suffered a traumatic brain injury while taking skiing lessons outside Montreal. Some reports have indicated that she was seriously hurt.

Her injury is a sad reminder that any head injury can have repercussions. Reports said she fell on the slopes and did not show any visible signs of injury but later reported that she did not feel well. She was treated at a Montreal Hospital and flown to New York City for continued care.

This accident is a sad reminder that prevention is key. As a safety precaution, helmets should always be worn when athletes at any level engage in a sports activity.

The Chicago Sun-Times story on Sunday about the progress being made by a 16-year-old Gary girl who last year suffered a brutal physical attack, cast a spotlight on what happens when someone suffers a severe brain injury. Attorneys at Romanucci & Blandin are all too familiar with the scenario because so many of our clients have suffered traumatic brain injuries.

In her mind, the victim sought solace in a safer time – back to when she was 6. In the newspaper story, her father likened her situation to a computer rebooting and coming back in a safe mode. Just like any computer that has crashed, once it comes back up, only certain information can be accessed

Continue reading "Brain Trauma Leaves 16-year-old Nearly Helpless" »

Each year in The United States approximately 1.5 million Americans sustain Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) ranging from mild to severe; 51,000 people die from TBI; and 230,000 people are hospitalized due to TBI and survive. Romanucci & Blandin has extensive experience representing victims of TBI.

A brain injury, which can happen in a split second, usually causes an injury that lasts a lifetime. One good resource for information is the Brain Injury Association of America (www.biausa.com). Brain injury needs to be understood so that adequate help can be obtained. Getting legal representation from a firm with experience in representing victims of brain injury trauma should be the first line of defense.

The lawyers at Romanucci & Blandin also fully support nonprofit organizations that help victims of TBI: the Midwest Brain Injury Clubhouse (www.braininjuryclubhouse.org) and SALUTE Inc. (www.saluteinc.org), a non-profit advocacy organization, which provides support and assistance to military families of injured U.S. soldiers being treated at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. The firm’s attorneys also speak nationwide about the legal issues related to TBI.

As you know, Romanucci & Blandin, LLC has been very active and supportive of our troops in Irag. We have also been very sensitive to the issues effecting our troops. One of them being the VA's denial of treating non contact traumatic brain injuries. Currently, the VA's standard to treat TBI's has been only if there has been a contact with the head. Clearly, this logic is flawed since TBI can be caused by blast injuries through the "wave" concussion. The Chicago Tribune recently reported as follows:

Illinois veterans who have brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder now have access to an array of screening and counseling services, state officials announced Tuesday.

The Illinois Warrior Assistance Program, the first of its kind in the United States, was launched Tuesday by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs and several other state and health organizations.

It provides a 24-hour toll-free help line for veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder, free phone screening for traumatic brain injury for all Illinois veterans and mandatory brain-injury screening for members of the Illinois National Guard returning from overseas.

An Army report released Jan. 17 found that as much as 20 percent of soldiers sustain at least a mild traumatic brain injury while deployed.

The new program's confidential help line can be reached at 866-554-IWAP, and more information can be found at http://www.illinoiswarrior.com .

Concussions are on the rise among high school athletes and girls are especially vulnerable to the injury, which can cause serious damage as reported by the Chicago Sun Times.

Research to be published next month in the Journal of Athletic Training suggests that unlike other sports-related injuries, concussions are on the rise among high school athletes. Girls appear to be especially vulnerable, logging higher concussion rates than boys in sports played by both sexes.

Researchers at Ohio State and Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, analyzed injuries among U.S. high school athletes participating in nine sports: boys' football, soccer, basketball, baseball and wrestling, and girls' soccer, basketball, volleyball and softball. They estimate that in the 2005-06 academic year, high school athletes suffered 135,901 concussions -- or 9 percent of all sports-related injuries

Continue reading "Traumatic Brain Injury and High School Athletes" »

Romanucci & Blandin continues to fight for the causes of those who have been afflicted with traumatic brain injury. To that effect, Tom Young, my good friend from Florida and the founder of InjuryBoard, has produced videos to further educate the public on issues such as traumatic brain injury, civil rights and the importance of a democratic society. Antonio Romanucci was a featured speaker on the topic of brain injury. Please take a moment to view these productions and learn a little bit more how important it is to support the right candidates for the right causes.

Please click on the link above and also play on the video below to learn more about traumatic brain injury.

For those who know our firm, you are aware that community safety in the Chicago area is always one of our priorities. When one of my son's friends was seriously injured in a little league baseball game on opening day this spring, I knew that someone had to do something. Fortunately, the boy's mom has been very successful at advocating for wooden bats to replace metal bats. Her article ""Metal Bats Strike out with Barrington Parents" highlights the inherent dangers of metal bats.

What follows is my letter to the editors of all of the major publications in Chicago. The letter was published my over 50 community newspapers. Word has spread and our fight will continue on to the Illinois legislature.

Until a few months ago, I had very little interest in metal baseball bats. Then I learned firsthand about the serious safety threat they pose.

As a personal injury attorney who has witnessed one too many times the devastating impact that sports equipment can have, I am writing to make your readers aware of the imminent danger of metal bats.

On opening day of baseball season, the 14-year-old son of a close friend was seriously injured while pitching during a Pony League game. A line drive hit by a metal bat struck him directly in the face, destroying his orbital lob and nose and requiring plastic surgery to repair. He will never look quite the same.

New York City has banned their use for 13-18 year-olds as of September 2007. North Dakota has banned them, and numerous other leagues and organizations across the U.S. have banned them or are considering doing so. The Illinois High School Association currently has five conferences that use only wood bats because of the growing safety concerns about metal bats. Jack Mackay, a former metal bat engineer for Louisville Slugger, has been an outspoken advocate against the use of metal bats.

I urge all local baseball leagues to ban the use of metal bats for the sake of our children and our communities. It would be a shame if this becomes a legislative issue when local leagues could so easily resolve the problem.