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Tag Archives: neurological injury

September 25, 2020 News
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Woman suffers traumatic brain injury from falling object

New York – This twenty-three year old woman was walking on a Manhattan sidewalk when she was hit in the head by a falling object. The injured woman was caught by surprise as she walked with a friend during a rain storm. Suddenly, a heavy chair flew off of a high balcony of a nearby residential building in a heavy wind. The falling debris came crashing down on the woman causing a severe head injury with serious intracranial hemorrhage or bleeding. She was rendered unconscious and bystanders called for an ambulance. Paramedics stabilized the injury victim and she was rushed to a hospital’s trauma center to undergo emergency surgery. Doctors were able to save her life and treated her severe neurological injuries along with various other wounds. The woman was hospitalized at Bellevue Hospital and continues to struggle to recover from her disabling injuries. They fear that she may have a permanent disability as a result of physical injuries. However, the neuropsychiatric and neurological injury can also leave her with permanent cognitive problems, a post-traumatic stress disorder as well as an adjustment disorder.

The woman has decided to file a personal injury lawsuit claiming negligence on behalf of the owners and residents of the apartment. The claim of negligence is based on the fact that furniture, loose objects and debris should be removed or secured to a balcony or rooftop before a wind storm can blow it over. It is the responsibility of home owners and building managers to maintain basic safety standards to prevent injury or wrongful death. You can see more about this horrifying accident with injuries here.

Illustrative Photo Credit: MilitaryHealth [License]

September 11, 2014 News
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Ongoing research reveals possible treatment for traumatic brain injury

A recent medical study showed that treating victims of head injury with xenon gas may minimize the degree of traumatic brain injury (TBI). The gas has been used as a medication for general anesthesia and also tired as a sedative for critical care patients. However, this early-stage study into head injuries suggests that the medicine should be further studied for accident victims and other sufferers of TBIs. Doctors explain that traumatic brain damage often occurs as a result of a car crash, slip and fall accident or assault. War time injuries and explosions can also cause severe head injuries. A mild traumatic brain injury, often referred to as a concussion, can leave the victim with memory problems, personality changes, headaches, dizziness, anxiety and depression. Medical experts say that the more severe the injury to the brain, the more severe and permanent the symptoms can be for the victim. They note that the initial accident or trauma is only the beginning of the process of brain injury. There’s a secondary injury that occurs over the next hours to days that can sometimes create more problems and disability than the initial injury. The researchers believe that the xenon gas is able to protect the health of the brain cells and prevent this further neurological injury, if given soon after a crash or other accident with head injury.

The scientists have also been studying the use of xenon gas for newborn babies who have suffered oxygen deprivation during birth. Possible causes of such lack of oxygen during delivery of an infant can include damage or problems with the health of the placenta or umbilical cord, an umbilical cord that is wrapped around the newborn’s neck, a birth injury, or prolonged labor and delivery of the infant. Experts posit that some of the causes can be due to a doctor’s mistake, missed diagnosis or hospital error while other problems can’t be prevented. The ultimate outcome of the oxygen deprivation can be devistating and leave the infant partially or even fully brain dead. The research scientists hope that their investigation into the use of xenon in these sick or injured patient will help prevent further brain damage. You can read more about the use of this gas as a medicine in brain injuries here.

Illustrative photo by Abu-Amero KK, Al-Dhalaan H, Bohlega S, Hellani A, Taylor RW. [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons