It’s the box-office blockbuster that was released by Columbia Pictures at the very end of 2015. Concussion stars Will Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu, the real-life, Nigerian-born pathologist whose work on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the progressive brain disease often suffered by pro football players, was suppressed by the National Football League. But the true story behind the film actually begins in 2002 with the unexpected death of Mike Webster, a starting center with the Pittsburgh Steelers throughout that team’s run of Super Bowl victories back in the 1970s. Dr. Omalu conducted the autopsy. At that time, he was a Pennsylvania forensic pathologist working for the Allegheny County coroner’s office. Mike Webster died abruptly and with no warning, but he died after years of dealing with clinical depression, addiction, and several suicide attempts.

The doctor determined that Mike Webster had been struggling with dementia pugilistica, a severe medical condition caused by frequent blows to the head. It’s the condition that’s common to professional boxers, for example. Dr. Omalu found quantities of tau protein in the brain that would have adversely affected Webster’s moods, emotions, and even his balance. Dr. Omalu began researching the cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy suffered by retired football players, but the NFL downplayed his research and the extent of the CTE problem among retired players. When former Steelers offensive lineman Terry Long committed suicide in 2005, Dr. Omalu reported that the tau protein quantities in Long’s brain tissues made it look like “a 90-year-old brain with advanced Alzheimer’s.”

In 2009, the NFL finally officially admitted that there’s a link between the concussions that football players suffer on the field and the many incidences of CTE among retired players. In 2011, seven retired NFL players, including Chicago Bears Super Bowl quarterback Jim McMahon, filed a lawsuit against the NFL, launching an avalanche of lawsuits by retired players who had sustained concussions regularly throughout the course of their football careers. When former Atlanta Falcon Ray Easterling killed himself in 2012, his autopsy discovered tau protein concentrations indicative of CTE. Only a month later, the beloved ex-San Diego Charger, Junior Seau, also committed suicide, and CTE was indicated in his autopsy as well.

Over three thousand retired players were suing the National Football League by August 2012, and by April 2013, the number had passed 4,500. That same month in Philadelphia, the NFL moved in federal court to have all of the claims dismissed. That move backfired. Instead, a judge ordered the two sides to negotiate a settlement. As a result of that settlement, the National Football League will spend more than $700 million for medical care for over 18,000 ex-players. An additional $10 million will be set aside for brain injury research and education.

WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US?

The settlement between the retired football players and the National Football League will enable many who need brain injury treatment to obtain it, but the settlement also raises some genuine concerns for the rest of us, and the release of Concussion has again put those concerns before the general public. If the most technologically advanced football helmets can’t keep the world’s ablest athletes safe from head and brain injuries, what about the dangers to motorcyclists and bicyclists wearing commercially-purchased helmets? And if a brain injury can happen on the field with no damage to the victim’s football helmet, could motorists and their passengers also be injured without any vehicular damage? Sadly, the research tells us that the answer is yes.

A concussion cannot be ignored. It’s a brain injury caused by a blow, a bump, or a jolt to the head. Serious, traumatic brain injuries and other kinds of injuries are frequently sustained in low-speed traffic collisions, and what we’re learning is raising some concerns. In low-speed crashes, there may no visible damage to the vehicles, but the injuries may still be quite serious. At lower speeds, more of the impact’s force transfers to the driver and passengers, because vehicles absorb very little impact force at speeds under twenty miles per hour. Low-speed traffic accidents can result in whiplash, soft tissue damage, spinal cord injuries, and traumatic brain injuries.

HOW MANY ARE INJURED?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury every year in the United States. 52,000 of those injuries are fatal. 275,000 victims are hospitalized. Over a million are treated for possible brain injuries in emergency rooms every year in the U.S. If you are in what appears as a minor vehicle collision with no obvious injuries, protect yourself and see a doctor anyway. The injuries typically sustained in low-impact crashes are exactly the types of injuries that are at first easily ignored or even undetectable. Honestly, the symptoms of a brain injury can be hard to spot – when there are symptoms. Later, however, such injuries can emerge as serious medical problems. A jolt to the head may suddenly cause sensitive brain tissue to slam up against solid skull bones, leading to swelling or even internal bleeding that may not at first be apparent. Whiplash and back injuries sometimes take days or even weeks just to be detected.

If you are involved in a vehicle collision and your vehicle sustains little or no damage, but you nevertheless are injured, an insurance company may reject your claim or offer you far less than your claim’s actual worth. Automobiles, trucks, buses, and SUVs are engineered to absorb the force of low-speed impacts; you, however, are not. Obtain medical attention immediately after any vehicle collision – whether or not you think you’ve been injured. That protects you both medically and legally if you later need to file a personal injury claim. If you subsequently experience any of the symptoms of brain injury, have another examination conducted. The symptoms of a brain injury include:

• nausea, dizziness, headaches, and vomiting
• dizziness and problems with motor skills
• memory, concentration, and balance problems
• low energy and fatigue
• emotional anxiety, depression, disorientation, and feelings of helplessness

If a brain injury or any other injury develops over a period of days or weeks, you must be able to prove that you were injured. Obtain medical treatment immediately after any vehicle collision and again if symptoms emerge days or weeks later. If you know that you are injured, speak at once with a good personal injury lawyer, and in the New York City area, contact an experienced Bronx personal injury attorney without delay.

HOW SERIOUS ARE CONCUSSIONS?

The journal of the American Academy of Neurology, simply titled Neurology, recently published data demonstrating that even a mild concussion damages the brain in a way that is still visible on brain scans months later. At the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, a research team led by Dr. Andrew R. Mayer studied fifty individuals who suffered mild concussions. The participants were subjected to brain scans and tested for thinking skills, anxiety, memory, and depression two weeks after their concussion and again four months later. These concussion victims still exhibited irregularities in the frontal cortex four months after a concussion occurred. If you have sustained even a mild concussion at any time in the past, you must be extraordinarily careful to avoid any blow, jolt, or impact to the head. A re-injured brain can be far more serious than a first mild concussion.

If you are injured by someone else’s negligence in the state of New York, the law entitles you to complete compensation for all of your medical treatment, income lost from work, and all additional injury-related costs and damages. In some states and cases, victims may be able to receive pain and suffering damages as well. A good personal injury attorney can evaluate the facts in your own case and discuss your rights and legal alternatives – including a potential personal injury lawsuit.

HOW CAN A PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY HELP?

In any and every personal injury case, proving the defendant’s negligence is the key to prevailing. An injury victim must offer evidence that his or her injury or injuries happened because of the defendant’s negligence. With an attorney’s help, the victim must demonstrate – with medical evidence, a doctor’s testimony, or both – that the injury or injuries actually occurred and that negligence was the direct reason for the injury or injuries. Catastrophic and disabling injuries require the maximum available reimbursement and a personal injury lawyer who knows how to win that reimbursement for you.

If you have been injured and you are entitled to compensation after a vehicle collision – even if the vehicle itself sustained little damage – do not listen to, speak to, or deal with an insurance company. Let your personal injury attorney handle every aspect of the negotiation and settlement. Most personal injury lawyers are trained, seasoned negotiators who will fight relentlessly and tenaciously for the reimbursement – and the justice – you need. A good personal injury lawyer can work with medical specialists, accident reconstruction experts, and others to gather and present evidence on your behalf. You probably will not even have to appear in court, as most personal injury claims are settled outside of the courtroom. In the five boroughs and adjacent jurisdictions, if you are injured in a vehicle collision, get medical attention immediately, and then take your case to an experienced Bronx personal injury attorney – as quickly as possible.

Super Bowl Sunday, the biggest day of the year in the National Football League, is almost here. It’s February 7, and although the big game will be played three thousand miles from New York – and even though no teams that call New York home will be playing – law enforcement agencies in every region of New York State are getting ready to do what they do on every Super Bowl Sunday. Officers will be aggressively looking for drunk drivers and taking them off New York’s streets and highways. Your chances of being stopped or arrested for driving while intoxicated are almost double on Super Bowl Sunday – compared to a more typical Sunday in January or February – and your odds of being injured by an intoxicated driver also nearly double on Super Bowl Sunday.

For a number of years, intoxicated driving on the day of the Super Bowl has been a growing public safety concern. Before last year’s Super Bowl, Governor Andrew Cuomo declared, “New York State has zero tolerance for impaired driving and for the needless tragedy that it causes.” State and local law enforcement agencies will be putting more officers on New York’s streets and highways, conducting more sobriety checkpoints in more locations, and making more stops for suspicion of DWI and more arrests for DWI (driving while intoxicated) and for DWAI (driving while ability impaired). If you are injured by a drunk driver on Super Bowl Sunday – or on any other day – discuss your rights and options with a good personal injury lawyer, and in the New York City area, contact an experienced Bronx personal injury attorney about your case as quickly as possible if you’ve been injured.

Drivers and passengers injured by drunk or otherwise negligent drivers are entitled under New York’s personal injury laws to full reimbursement for their medical treatment, lost wages, and all additional injury-related losses and expenses. In 2012, more than 10,000 fatalities were reported in the United States in alcohol-related traffic collisions. That’s about one fatality every 51 minutes. In New York State in 2014 alone, according to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, alcohol played a role in 270 fatal crashes and in 3,974 personal injury accidents. Whenever you drive in New York or ride as a passenger, it’s likely that an impaired driver is somewhere on the road with you, and on Super Bowl Sunday, it’s almost twice as likely. If you’re driving on Super Bowl Sunday, take extra precautions.

WHAT WILL YOU HAVE TO PROVE?

In the state of New York – like all other states – a driver is legally too intoxicated to drive if his or her blood alcohol content (BAC) level is 0.08 percent or higher. Impaired drivers responsible for accidents are almost always prosecuted in the criminal courts, but a drunk driver who injures you can also be sued for civil damages. To prevail with a personal injury claim, you must prove that you were in fact injured and that the other driver’s negligence is the reason there was an accident and injury. However, to establish that the motorist who injured you was in fact liable for the injury, you do not have to prove that he or she was legally intoxicated. You can file a personal injury claim if you are injured by a driver who was in any way negligent or distracted at the time of the accident. Nevertheless, a breathalyzer test result on the high side or a DWI conviction by a New York criminal court will certainly enhance your personal injury claim.

If you are injured by an impaired driver, let a good personal injury lawyer manage your personal injury claim and negotiate a settlement on your behalf. Your attorney will arrange for an acceptable settlement, and if an acceptable settlement is not possible, your lawyer can take your case before a jury. If a trial is needed – and in more than nine out of ten personal injury cases, it’s not – your personal injury lawyer will craft an appropriate trial strategy and make certain that your story is plainly told to the jury and clearly understood.

WHAT’S THE BEST GAME PLAN?

Of course, the best game plan for Super Bowl Sunday means no injuries for you and your passengers and loved ones. As part of its annual “Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk” safety awareness campaign tied to this year’s big game, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers these safety suggestions for this year’s Super Bowl:

1. Arrange in advance to get home safely if you plan to enjoy drinks with friends. If someone you trust will act as a designated driver, let that person drive, or arrange for a ride service, a limo, a taxi, a room, or a friend’s sofa.
2. Even if you start with the best intentions, several drinks can cloud anyone’s judgment. Leave your keys home and get a safe ride to your destination as well as a safe return ride. That way, you can’t be tempted to drive after drinking.
3. Don’t let your friends drive while impaired either. Help them find a safe way home. You might even consider being the designated driver for your friends.
4. Don’t drive under any circumstances until you are fully and completely sober.
5. Wear your seat belt. On Super Bowl Sunday, others will be driving under the influence even if you are not. If you will be driving on the day of the game, check your tire pressure, windshield wipers, brakes, and all of your lights ahead of time.
6. After the game, it’s dark, and drivers may be impaired, so if you’re walking – especially in the New York City area – try to have a friend accompany you.

If a drunk or negligent driver injures you in an accident – on the day of the Super Bowl or at any other time – try to stay calm and think clearly. Immediately after an accident, you need to take several very important steps immediately. The top priority is to seek medical attention for yourself and for anyone else who’s been injured. After summoning medical help, call the police. You’ll need a copy of the accident report, and you may need their testimony as witnesses if you file a personal injury claim. Ask any other witnesses for their names and for a way to reach them. You must obtain the other driver’s name, contact information, and insurance information. Most drivers will be helpful, but if the other driver is injured, impaired, or hostile, ask the police to help you get the information you need.

It’s almost imperative in personal injury cases today to take photos of the accident site, the vehicle damages, and your own injuries. Photos can be powerful and persuasive evidence. Take the photos or have someone take them – you can’t have too many. Ensure that you can prove the date that the photographs were taken. Also make and keep copies of every document related to the accident: medical bills, test results, the police report, and any other pertinent paperwork.

WHAT WILL AN ATTORNEY DO FOR YOU?

Subsequent to any traffic collision, do not admit to anything. Sign no insurance forms or documents, and don’t even discuss your case with an insurance company or with an insurance representative prior to speaking with a good personal injury attorney. Typically, an insurance company will try to cajole an accident victim into accepting a quick accident settlement. Don’t. An insurance company may offer you an amount far below the actual value of your personal injury claim. Moreover, if you accept a quick settlement, you may be precluded from further legal action if your injury is more serious than it first appears. When an accident victim is disabled or permanently injured, that victim will need the maximum possible compensation. An experienced personal injury attorney is a trained and seasoned negotiator who can handle the negotiating on your behalf.

However, if a settlement cannot be reached for any reason, your personal injury attorney should also have substantial trial experience and should be ready to present your claim to a jury. If you pursue a personal injury claim, it will also be vital to keep all of your medical appointments. You not only need proper and timely treatment for your injuries, but your medical appointments also create the records and documents that your attorney will need to advocate effectively on your behalf.

“Don’t Drink and Drive” is still the number one key to safe driving. Even if you take precautions and only drive when you’re sober, there is still no final, foolproof way to protect yourself and your loved ones from a drunk driver’s irresponsible choices and behavior. If you are injured by a drunk driver – or by a distracted or otherwise negligent driver – take action at once. Evidence gets corrupted and memories fade, so you must put a good personal injury lawyer on the case without delay. If you are injured by negligence on Super Bowl Sunday or any other day of the year, speak as quickly as possible to a good personal injury lawyer, and in the New York City area, speak with an experienced Bronx personal injury attorney and get the legal help you need.

When vaccines were first being widely used in the 19th century, if you suffered severe negative side effects after a vaccination, you had little or no recourse. Beginning with the passage of the U.S. Biologics Control Act of 1902, which was the first government regulation of vaccines, those vaccines started becoming much safer. Still, even in the 21st century, no medical procedure, including vaccination, is ever entirely without risk. There’s no doubt that vaccines save lives, but there’s also no doubt that some vaccines, when received by certain individuals, can also cause serious side effects, severe injuries, and worse. The most common side effects of vaccinations are temporary soreness and swelling at the puncture location, but some vaccines have been linked to rashes, fevers, muscles aches, and a number of other symptoms. Serious side effects from vaccinations are statistically rare but may include seizures, allergic reactions, and in the most extreme cases, fatalities.

What happens if a vaccination goes wrong and you or your child becomes seriously ill or injured as a result? What is your legal recourse after a vaccine injury? Can you obtain any compensation for your additional medical bills and related expenses if you or someone you love is injured by a vaccine? The answer is “probably,” but it can be an extremely complicated challenge. Acquiring reimbursement for a vaccine-related injury is an entirely different procedure from the way you would normally seek compensation for a personal injury or a medical malpractice claim.

THE “VACCINE COURT”

Since the 1980s, vaccine-related injury claims in the United States have been heard only by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. “Vaccine Court” is the popular term for the Office of Special Masters of the Court of Federal Claims. Claims against vaccine manufacturers may not normally be filed in state or federal civil courts but may only be heard in the Court of Claims. The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) was established by Congress as part of the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act to award compensation to the victims of vaccine injuries. The VICP is a federal no-fault insurance program that functions as an alternative to the traditional civil personal injury system, and it provides compensation to victims who have been injured by certain vaccines.

If you or someone in your family has been injured because of a vaccine – or is injured because of a vaccine in the future – consult as quickly as possible with an experienced personal injury or medical malpractice lawyer, and in the New York City area, consult with an experienced Bronx vaccine injury attorney. You cannot file a vaccine injury lawsuit in a state court. Because you must file the claim through the VICP, you’ll need the help of a personal injury lawyer with experience in vaccine injury cases and familiarity with the Court of Federal Claims. It can be a challenge to win the compensation you need and the justice you deserve in the Court of Federal Claims, but if you’ve been injured by a vaccine, it can often be accomplished with the right attorney’s help.

The federal “Vaccine Court” operates on a “no fault” system, so to win compensation for a vaccine-related injury, you are not required to prove that anyone was “at fault.” You do, however, have to establish that your injury was caused by the vaccine under a “more likely than not” standard. You have three years to file a claim for a vaccine injury from the date that you first discover your symptoms, but do not wait three years. The sooner you act after you know that your injury is vaccine-related, the better. Putting an attorney to work for you as soon as you know that you’ve been injured gives that attorney time to examine your claim, gather evidence, and speak with potential witnesses on your behalf. For a vaccine-related wrongful death, the claim must be filed within two years of the date of the death and within four years after the onset date of the first symptoms.

It is frankly almost impossible to sidestep the VICP and the Court of Federal Claims if you are a victim who is seeking compensation for a vaccine-related injury. State civil courts and other federal courts simply will not hear vaccine injury claims, although if your claim is rejected by the Court of Federal Claims, you should certainly speak with your attorney about an appeal to a state or federal civil court.

VICP COVERAGE

Why is there a special, separate system for vaccine injury cases outside of the established civil court system? In the 1970s and the early 1980s, lawsuits filed against vaccine manufacturers increased dramatically, and those manufacturers made several huge payouts to those claiming vaccine injuries – so huge, in fact, that a number of pharmaceutical corporations reacted by abandoning the vaccine business entirely, thus placing the general public’s health and well-being potentially at risk. In October, 1986, Congress responded by passing the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, which established the VICP.

Since 1988, the VICP has been funded by a 75-cent excise tax on every purchased dose of the vaccines covered by the program. Injuries caused by the vaccines listed here are covered by the VICP: Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, HPV, chicken pox, diphtheria, influenza, measles, mumps, meningococcal disease, pertussis, polio, pneumococcal conjugate, rotavirus, rubella, tetanus, and whooping cough. The VICP does not cover all vaccines; however, the vaccines routinely given to children as part of the recommended immunization schedule are on the list, and many vaccines for adults are also covered. You may file a vaccine injury claim through the VCIP if:

• You believe that you were injured by one of the vaccines covered by the VICP.
• You are a parent or legal guardian of a minor child or a disabled adult and you believe that the minor child or disabled adult was injured by a vaccine covered by the VICP.
• You are the legal representative of the estate of a deceased person and you believe that the person’s death was the result of a vaccine covered by the VICP.

INJURIES AND AWARDS

Vaccines have been linked to a number of medical conditions including but not limited to serious allergic reactions, encephalopathy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, brachial neuritis, intussusception, and paralytic polio. If you are the victim of a vaccine injury, you are entitled in the Court of Federal Claims to seek full reimbursement for your medical bills, your legal expenses, related expenditures, loss of future earnings, and for your pain and suffering as well. Pain and suffering awards are capped in “Vaccine Court” at $250,000. You may also seek up to $250,000 for a wrongful death if you are a survivor. VICP compensation payments averaged $782,136 per successful claim through 2011. As of December 1, 2011, the program had awarded $2.35 billion in 2,810 separate vaccine injury cases, including compensation for 390 wrongful deaths linked to vaccine injuries.

Although you do not have to name a defendant or prove fault in “Vaccine Court,” as a victim you nevertheless must show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that without the vaccination, no injury would have been sustained. A mere temporal relationship between the vaccination and the injury – you were vaccinated, and then you were injured – is not sufficient; a claimant must present some kind of medical evidence and a theory of causation supported by the medical records and/or by expert medical opinion.

THE AUTISM QUESTION

Beginning around 2001, hundreds and then thousands of families began to petition the VICP, claiming that their children’s autism was the result of vaccinations. To deal with the overwhelming number of these claims, and to address the charge that a causal relationship existed between vaccination and autism, the VICP in 2002 established a program called the Omnibus Autism Proceeding. The OAP consolidated many of the autism claims into test cases that rested on different theories of causation, but no causal relationship was found between autism and any vaccine, and appeals of the test cases have been unsuccessful. New claimants will have to offer new evidence or a new theory of autism causation by vaccines or pursue other legal options.

TAKING ACTION

If you or someone you love has sustained an injury as the result of a vaccination, consult a personal injury lawyer at once, and in New York, speak to an experienced Bronx personal injury attorney. Filing a claim with the Court of Federal Claims requires a $400 filing fee, but that fee can be waived for those in a financial hardship situation. Before filing a claim, you’ll also want to compile medical records such as prenatal, birth, pre-vaccination, vaccination, and post-vaccination records. Without those records, your claim may be delayed or rejected.

All legal fees for the representation of vaccine injury victims in the “Vaccine Court” are paid by the VICP itself. Attorneys are eligible for reasonable attorneys’ fees, whether or not the claimant is receives reimbursement, if specified minimum requirements are met. It can take as long as two years – and sometimes longer – to resolve claims in “Vaccine Court,” so if you or your child has been injured by a vaccine, make the call to a personal injury attorney – with vaccine injury experience – as quickly as possible.

If you have suffered a herniated disc after car accident, it is important to report symptoms to a doctor. Speak to a Bronx car accident lawyer for help filing a claim for a herniated disc.

Symptoms can include back, neck or leg pain, and numbness, tingling, or muscular fatigue. Your doctor, will diagnose the condition by conducting a physical exam to determine your reflexes, ability to walk, and sensitivity to pinpricks and other touches. Imaging tests, including CT scans, x-rays, MRIs and myelograms will be conducted in order to determine the presence of a herniated disc or any other cause of back pain.

Typically, doctors will begin your treatment with a course of medications, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. If the pain, however, doesn’t improve with these over-the-counter medications, your doctor may prescribe narcotic drugs, including a combination of oxycodone and acetaminophen. More advanced drugs including nerve pain drugs, may also be used to help relieve pain. If these don’t help, muscle relaxants and cortisone injections may be prescribed.

In rare cases, doctors may prescribe surgery for a herniated disc. That option is only used if your symptoms are not alleviated, after weeks of continued and repeated medication. If you have lost bladder control, doctors may consider surgery as an option.

Therapy may also be prescribed. Traction and other the types of therapy may reduce the symptoms of the herniated disc. Doctors will also prescribe bracing of the lower back or the neck.

All of these treatment options mean extensive medical expenses. Document all of the expenses that you have incurred in the treatment of your herniated disc. These records can help you recover compensation for your medical expenses in a personal injury claim for a herniated disc. Speak to a Bronx personal injury lawyer for help filing a claim.

Many persons think nothing about driving when they are tired or sleepy. In most cases, these people don’t realize that their drowsiness is serious enough to cause an accident. You might believe that you are just a little tired, and that this will not affect your long journey back home. However, you could be wrong, according to our auto accident lawyers.

Look out for these factors that could raise your risk of sleep deprivation. Avoid driving if you think these factors apply to you.

You are sleep- deprived, and have slept for less than six hours in a 24-hour period.

You have recently been suffering from poor quality of sleep or insomnia.

You have been driving long distances without rest. Stop driving if you have not taken rest for many hours. Remember to pull over somewhere safe and take some rest.

You have been putting in many hours at work. You could be at risk of sleep deprivation and not even know it. According to some estimates, working more than 60 hours a week could increase your risk of a drowsy driving accident by 40%. Remember, you may not feel that drowsy when you’re actually at work, but could begin to feel fatigued again when you’re on your way back home.

You are currently working on more than one job. Understand that working these many hours could automatically eat into your sleep time, leaving you sleep-deprived and fatigued.

If you’re on sedative medications like cough and cold medications, anti-hypertensives, and antidepressants, you are at a higher risk of drowsiness while driving.

If you are driving at a time when you’re normally asleep, like late at night, or mid-afternoon, then your chances of dozing off at the wheel are automatically higher.

To discuss your claim after being involved in a drowsy driving accident, speak to a Bronx personal injury lawyer.