Virginia Brain injuries resulting in dementia

7/20/2011
Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton
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Study: Dementia Risk Raised by History of Brain Injuries

As a Virginia traumatic brain injury lawyer, I am often concerned about lasting harm caused to my clients from impact or crush injuries to the head, including concussions and skull fractures. Some permanent losses may be undiscovered at the time of settlement with an insurance company or jury verdict in court.

A study of Vietnam-era U.S. military veterans by Dr. Kristine Yaffe, a University of California professor and director of the Memory Disorders Clinic, revealed that individuals who had suffered any type of head injury or brain damage during their time in service had a higher likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia than did their peers who had not experienced mild or traumatic brain injuries. Over a 7-year monitoring period beginning in 1997, twice as many brain-injured veterans as non-brain injured people received dementia diagnoses.

Although all the veterans had been provided with protective headgear to help them survive explosions and other attacks, helmets can only provide limited protection to the brain. Protective head gear can minimize a concussion or head injury, but when experiencing a blow to the head the brain collides with the inside of the bony skull resulting in long-term effects that can be damaging. When the brain hits the sides of the skull, the brain tissues can be damaged, and nerves, blood vessels, and membranes can get torn. The damage is often at the microscopic level but has real functional effects.

While helmets and other protective headgear are protecting our heads, we may not realize the severity of the injury until many years later. The trauma caused in your brain after a blow to the head is far worse than one may expect. Although the skull may be unbroken, sometimes the brain strikes the side of the skull causing long-term effects, including dementia.

MC

Category: Brain Damage/Head Injuries

Labels: Alzheimer's disease brain injury brain trauma concussions dementia helmet injury law firm injury lawyer skull fractures veterans Virginia Personal injury lawyer

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a VA injury law firm whose attorneys focus on personal injury and accident law and have experience handling cases brought by victims of traumatic brain injury and closed head injuries. In fact, in 2000, our firm helped a plaintiff receive what was then the largest verdict ever in a Virginia brain injury case. Then in the year 2012 we won a $21 million brain injury verdict. We also have a blog in which we discuss only topics related to brain injuries and head wounds.

Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been named to the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009 and listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008.Shapiro and Lewis have been named Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law since 2008. Fewer than 5 percent of lawyers receive this professional honor. In addition, our firm was the first in Virginia to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms. Our VA injury law firm has the highest rating of AV from Martindale-Hubbell, a national lawyer ranking organization, which means we have a reputation for preeminent legal skill.
We have offices in Virginia Beach and Hampton, VA, but we're ready to come to you anywhere in Virginia, including Norfolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Suffolk and Newport News if you or a family member has been seriously hurt by someone else's carelessness. While not every case meets our criteria, we offer free initial confidential consultations. Call us toll-free at (800) 752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail so we can get back to you.

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Study: Dementia Risk Raised by History of Brain Injuries

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