Congressman Rush Holt will hold a town hall meeting Saturday June 20, 2009 at 2:30 PM at the Performing Arts Center of Monroe Township High School. During the meeting, Representative Holt will talk with residents about issues affecting Central New Jersey and the nation, including the economy, health care, education, national security, and anything else that may be of interest to those in attendance. This is an opportunity for those impacted by brain injury to express questions and concerns to Congressman Holt. Constituents can call 1-87-RUSH-HOLT with questions.
 

The State Senate Law and Public Safety and Veterans’ Affairs Committee passed Senate Bill No. 1212 [S1212] yesterday. The Bill, sponsored by Senator Anthony Bucco, would exempt recreational safety helmets from sales and use tax.

The Brain Injury Association of New Jersey testified in support of the bill and proposed amendments which would ensure that the purpose of the bill would apply to a range of other sport related helmets such as football, hockey, and baseball.

Congressman Frank LoBiondo (R-2), is a member of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force and has been a long-time supporter of brain injjury awareness and education and recognizes the value of rehabilitation. A recent article on TheDailyJournal.com discusses Congressman LoBiondo's recent visit to HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital in which he visited with patients and reviewed the industry's latest in medical technology at HealthSouth, which are being used to help patients.

Congressman LoBiondo said in the article, "Most people don't give a lot of thought to rehab or the facilities until they or a family member needs it, then it becomes important," LoBiondo said. "The fact that you do the great job that you do is an untold story that needs to be told."

You can read the full article online here.

I read an article on the New York Times' website yesterday entitled, New Guidelines on Young Athletes’ Concussions Stir Controversy,  which discusses the guidelines used to regulate a student athlete's return to the field after a concussion has been suffered. While many are in favor of stricter regulations which are meant to protect students from long-term brain injuries, some now believe that the stricter guidelines can actually have a reverse effect on the players and their health.

Some professionals believe that imposing such strict guidelines will force students to lie about the severity of their injury in order to return to the field before they should. If this is the case, many students will go untreated for the initial injury and will be more susceptible to future long-term injuries.

The article discusses an international panel of neurologists who are updating their recommendations on concussion care in the May issue of The British Journal of Sports Medicine. The article states that any athlete age 18 or younger who was believed to have sustained a concussion during a game or practice should never be allowed to return to the playing field the same day. However, other doctors said they feared the effects of such strictness, and predicted that athletes would respond by hiding their injuries from coaches and trainers even more than they are already known to do.

You can read the full article online here.

I found an interesting article on the International Brain Injury Association’s website the other day written by Robert L. Shepherd MS, Certified Medical Illustrator and Vice President & Director of Eastern Region Operations for MediVisuals Incorporated.

The article discusses how medical and health care professionals are often called upon to provide expert opinions during litigation. Those experts providing medical/legal opinions may either be called due to their role as a treater of a patient involved in litigation or retained to provide so called “expert witness” testimony because these specialists are recognized as experts in a specific area (even though they may not have treated a patient involved in litigation). In either case, the role of the testifying professional is very important in helping decision makers or triers of fact identify and appreciate the truth in order to achieve just resolution of the contested issue(s).

The article goes on to discuss the challenges testifying professionals will need to consider in order to present an opinion in a legal venue. You can read the full article online here.