Kenneth Goldblatt | October 20, 2018 | Personal Injury

Brain Injury Attorney in Westchester, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island shares Ohio efforts to combat brain injury.

Never before has brain injury been given more attention.

Troops are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with lingering problems. This summer, a $765 million settlement was reached between the NFL and former players over brain injuries. And youth sports programs nationwide and in Ohio are on notice to keep kids out of the game when they’ve suffered a concussion.

Advocates for better prevention of brain injuries and care for those who’ve been hurt hope that a recent change in Ohio, coupled with the overall momentum, will improve the outlook here.

Ohio State University now is at the helm of the Ohio Brain Injury Advisory Committee, a group that for more than two decades has worked toward better prevention, treatment and diagnosis.

The university and its resources could bolster those efforts and perhaps secure more money to make improvements in Ohio, said Stephanie Ramsey, who is chairwoman-elect of the committee and president of the board of trustees for the Brain Injury Association of Ohio.

The state’s Opportunities for Ohioans With Disabilities department (formerly the Rehabilitation Services Commission) previously oversaw the committee.

The group receives about $125,000 a year in state money to operate, said John D. Corrigan, the director of Ohio State’s Division of Rehabilitation Psychology. Plans are to apply for more grant money.

Corrigan said the brain-injury expertise at Ohio State will help build on work by the committee, which met on Thursday to start planning for the future. One area of focus will be improving data so that the committee will have a better grasp on the injuries that occur in the state and what is happening to people in the years and decades after diagnosis, Corrigan said. He said he also would like to focus on sports concussions, including evaluating how a recent Ohio law aimed at reducing harm from concussions is playing out.

Other important areas are increasing the number of people who can be cared for in community-based settings rather than nursing homes and improving care and services for military veterans with brain injuries, Corrigan said.

Ramsey said it’s important to remember the families of patients and to look for ways to better serve and support them.

“Brain injury is a family event; it’s not just the individual. There are all kinds of support programs that are needed for families,” she said.

Gracie Williams, a committee member who suffered a brain injury in a car crash 26 years ago, said she hopes there is more focus on the well-being of people who are dealing with the repercussions years after the initial trauma.

“How do you get along with the community and your family and your extended family?” said Williams, who is 56 and lives in Fairfield County. “And where do you go get help when all of your (treatment) options have run out?

“A lot has been done, acute-care wise … but what do you do when it’s 12 years later?”

The Orthopedic & Brain Injury Law Group of Goldblatt & Associates, P.C. represents the legal interests of those individuals who have sustained traumatic orthopedic and brain injuries due to the negligence of others. In representing our clients, the firm oversees and handles all aspects of insurance issues ranging from ensuring client’s medical bills are paid and assisting client’s in getting reimbursed for out of pocket expenses, including lost wages.