Head Injuries Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Halifax Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

August 23rd, 2011

Injuries Increase as Temperatures Rise

According to a recent report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information an average of 45 Canadians are hospitalized every day in the summer as a result of injuries from wheel and water sports.

“Summer is a great time to be active and enjoy the outdoors, but it is also a peak period for motor vehicle injuries and trauma related to wheel and water sports,” said Greg Webster, director of Primary Health Care Information at CIHI.

CIHI has been collecting data for the last 10 years. Their investigation show that cycling injuries account for half of all sport and recreation related hospital admissions.

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August 22nd, 2011

NFL Brain Injury Lawsuit Raises Public Awareness of Dangers of Concussion

by John McKiggan

The New York Times recently reported that 75 former professional football players from the NFL have filed a claim against the National Football League claiming the league was aware that concussions could cause long term brain injury and that the league failed to warn players and properly treat their injuries.

Recently there have been a number of stories in the media surrounding the dangers of concussion and minor traumatic brain injury. Mostly spurred by injuries to professional athletes. See for example:

Hockey Players Losing More Time Due To Concussions

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August 19th, 2011

Nova Scotia Brain Injury Claims: Signs of Minor Traumatic Brain Injury

by John McKiggan

Diagnosing Traumatic Brain Injury

There are a number of diagnostic tests that doctors use to test for brain injury. The problem is that most of the tests (X-Ray, CT Scan, MRI) are not sensitive enough to detect the subtle changes cause by minor traumatic brain injury.

Several years ago I had a case where I was asked to provide a second opinion to someone who had been in a car accident. She had received an offer of compensation based on the fact that she hyad broken some bones in the accident.

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August 18th, 2011

Baby Dragged By Car Highlights Dangers of Unattended Children: Kids and Cars Canada

by John McKiggan

Baby Dragged By Car

The Ottawa Citizen reported that a 6 month old boy suffered head injuries after being dragged 12 meters by the family car when it rolled backwards down their driveway after being knocked into gear by his 3 year old sister.

The infant’s 14 year old sister was helping her mom get the family ready for a trip. The baby had been buckled into a car seat and the car seat was placed on the driveway beside the family car. The family’s 3 year old daughter was playing in the front seat of the car and managed to knock the car into gear. The car started rolling backwards and dragged the infant in his car seat for almost 12 meters. Media reports list the baby as being in stable but serious condition.

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August 10th, 2011

Brain Matter: The Survivor’s Guide to Brain Injury Claims

by John McKiggan

I am very proud to announce the publication of my latest book: Brain Matter: The Survivor’s Guide to Brain Injury Claims.

I have been representing survivors of traumatic brain injury for 20 years. After spending years volunteering with the Brain Injury Association of Nova Scotia I realized there is a real lack of public awareness about traumatic brain injury claims.

So I decided to write a book to try to help educate the public and to provide information to brain injury survivors, and their families, about the legal issues surrounding traumatic brain injuries.

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August 10th, 2011

Using QEEG Test Results in Brain Injury Claims – Bialkowski v. Banfield

by John McKiggan

https://www.apmlawyers.com/“Novel” Science in the Courtroom

In 1994 the Supreme Court of Canada in the landmark decision R v Mohan settled the following general criteria for the admissibility of expert opinion evidence:

1) The evidence is relevant to some issue in the case;

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April 26th, 2011

Hockey Players Losing More Time Due To Concussions – Nova Scotia Brain Injury Claims

by John McKiggan

Fewer Brain Injuries But More Time Lost

This month’s issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal contained a study of NHL hockey players over 7 seasons. The study indicated that while the number of concussions has leveled off the time that players were loosing as a result of the concussions appears to be increasing.

More Severe Injuries or Better Treatment?

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April 15th, 2011

Do Helmets Increase Risk of Head Injury?

by John McKiggan

If there is one thing that everyone knows it’s that wearing a helmet reduces the risk of head injury. Or does it?

Risky Business?

New research published by Mikael Colvill-Andersen suggests that people who wear helmets are more likely to engage in the type of risky behavior that results in head injuries.

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March 30th, 2011

Brain Injury Claims: Female athletes more susceptible to brain injury

by John McKiggan

This is interesting. The Globe and Mail has reported that researchers have discovered that women are more susceptible to sports related concussions than men.

The problem is that most “return to play”criteria are based on research on male athletes. This may result in injured female athletes being returned to play before they are fully recovered, resulting in a greater chance of multiple concussions and long term brain damage.

Thanks to my colleague Bruce Stern for the heads up on the article.

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