The paper, in a story headlined “Bill on concussions hits home with injured teen,” did a profile of Josh Inhof, a West Bend, Wis., 15-year-old. The article outlined what happened when Josh sustained a concussion, one that wasn’t immediately recognized.    

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/bill-on-concussions-hits-home-with-injured-teen-132290068.html

On Oct. 10 Josh was at junior varsity football practice, where he took a bad hit at West Bend East High School. The teen walked over to talk to his father Steven, who was coaching a team on a nearby field.    

Josh told his dad he had “got rocked” at practice. But his father didn’t think of a concussion, he just told Josh to take an aspirin for the headache he now had, according to the Journal Sentinel.

Two days later, Josh was back playing. He was hit twice at that game, and wound up unconscious on the sidelines. In that emergency situation, Josh was ultimately transported by a Flight for Life helicopter to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.  

Josh was hospitalized for two days. He was advised to recuperate and stay home from school.

The Journal Sentinel weaves John’s story in with an update of Wisconsin’s concussion pending legislation. Its bill mandates that if a student athlete is believed to have sustained a head injury, coaches have to remove he or she from the game or practice. That athlete couldn’t return to action until undergoing an evaluation by a doctor who is trained in managing concussions. And the player would need written permission to resume playing.

Wisconsin’s bill is pending a vote by the state Assembly. The state Senate is likely to consider a similar bill.

Wisconsin’s bill would be applicable to public schools, private schools, athletic clubs and other organizations, according to the Journal Sentinel, which reported that 36 states, and the District of Columbia, now have laws regarding youths and concussions.  

Wisconsin should be state No. 37.       

As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel pointed out, last Sunday Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Stewart Bradley collapsed on the gridiron in a game against the Green Bay Packers. Both Bradley and Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb sustained concussions during that game, and didn’t play this weekend.

 http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/103216894.html

In another incident, this one on Sept. 11, University of Wisconsin-Madison receiver David Gilreath was hit and rendered unconscious in a game against San Jose State. He was carted off the field in a stretcher, and did not play in a recent game against Arizona State University.

And in a truly heart-breaking case in early September, 11-year-old Evan Coubal of Muskego sustained a concussion during a youth football game. In a freak accident several days later Coubal, a student at Bay Lane Middle School, hit his head on a football sled. He died of head trauma in a local hospital.  

http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/102406834.html

 http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/102330324.html

The incident involving the Eagles’ Bradley, which was seen by more than 28 million people via Fox, brought the team’s handling of the situation under scrutiny.

As The New York Times wrote, during the game “Bradley rose woozily, stumbled and then collapsed onto the turf. The Fox announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman expressed concern and even horror. Players waved frantically for medical assistance.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/16/sports/football/16concussions.html?ref=todayspaper

Yet Bradley was sent back to the field only minutes later, and his concussion wasn’t diagnosed until halftime. The Eagles defended their actions, saying that Bradley wasn’t immediately taken out of the game, as mandated by new NFL rules, because a sideline exam didn’t find a concussion. Huh? It seems that none of the Eagles’ medical personnel witnessed him take his hit or saw his collapse.

As The Times astutely pointed out, “If a concussion this glaring can be missed, how many go unnoticed every fall weekend on high school and youth fields, where the consequences can be more serious, even fatal?”      

A lot, I would venture to say.

And right next to The Times’ story Thursdsy about Bradley was another article on NFL head injuries. The headline on that piece was “A Giant’s Concussions Begin to Add Up.” The story was about New York Giants’ tight end Kevin Boss, who has suffered three concussions since 2008, with the most recent one during a game against the Carolina Panthers. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/16/sports/football/16giants.html?ref=todayspaper

In that story, Boss downplayed the seriousness of his concussions, telling The Times, “I’ve seen guys come stumbling off the field who can’t remember their own name. Nothing has been that bad.”

But the latest research shows that repetitive concussions have a cumulative effect on the brain, causing progressive damage. That’s what Boss is at risk of, whether or not he can remember his name after being hit on the field.  

The issue of concussions and youth athletes will be the topic of Thursday’s hearing of the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, which is considering legislation to cut down on head injuries.  

The Journal Sentinel outlined the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Associations’s rules on concussions. Under those guidelines, young athletes who have symptoms of concussions or are unconscioius can’t go back to a game or practice the same day without a doctor’s written permission. A doctor must also approve an athlete before he or she can come back to competition afterward. And Wisconsin has a protocol for athletes to follow before they return to play fulltime.   

http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2010/07/30/jack-roush-doing-better-drivers-expect-him-back-soon/

As a brain injury attorney, I can’t help but wonder if Roush has also been tested for potential brain injury. If his face was cut up, then that of course is a head injury, so my immediate thought was that he might have sustained a mild concussion.

Roush was moved to the Mayo Clinic on Wednesday, where he remains. He had undergone surgery at a hospital in Neenah, Wis., on Tuesday night.    

Roush, an aviation buff who owns many planes, flew to Oshkosh to attend the Experimental Aircraft  Association’s annual AirVenture show.

The NASCAR owner was trying to land his Premier Beechcraft jet at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh when it crashed. Roush and his passenger walked away from the plane, but Roush sustained major facial injuries.     

 The motorcyclist was killed. His passenger, who sustained traumatic brain injury, was taken to Froedert Hospital.

Neither of  them was wearing a helmet. Police declined to identify them. But the Milwaukee motorcyclist, 43, had lost his motorcycle license in April for operating under the influence. His badly injured woman passenger, 41, Sunday was from West Allis. 

 http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/98701229.html

Is that fatal accident an argument for Wisconsin to pass a law requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets? I think it is, but it’s a controversial topic that people feel strongly about. The Wilwaukee Journal Sentinel story about the accident had 36 comments posted on it, most of them debating whether or not Wisconsin should make helmets mandatory, as they are in some states.

Those who oppose a helmet law believe that such legislation amounts to the government intruding on their freedom (comments printed as written, typos and misspellings intact).  

 And plenty of other people, like Milltowngurl, agreed with him.

“No, the government does not need to make laws for every little personal choice in MY life, Thank you very much,” she posted. “If I want to be an idiot and not wear a helmet when I ride a donor cycle, then so be it. If I do not want to wear a seat belt when driving a car, then that should also be my choice. The only time it should not be a choice is when it applies to minors who are not mature enough to make adult decisions. Get a grip. Get the government out of our personal lives already! (or do you need someone to tell you how to live your life? If so, join the military!)”

 Those who were in favor of mandatory helmets for motorcylists were just as vocal about the need for a helmet law, not just to protect the motorcylist, but so that Wisconsin — and ultimately its residents –  aren’t burdened with the costs that are repercussions of accidents.

 ”It is the govt’s role (to mandate helmets),” wrote Leatherface49. “Let’s say the passenger needs extensive hospitalization and doesnt have insurance. there’s $5 million costto society!! wear helmets you doofus’s”

Lannonresident, who was actually at the fatal accident site, agreed with Leatherface49.

“I counted 5 different law enforcement agencies that were involved when I left the scene: West Milwaukee, West Allis, City of Milwaukee, Sheriff, and State Patrol,” Lannonresident posted. “I will also let you know that all of this support came at a cost- the freeways were left unpatrolled and the drunk that almost hit me got to drive home as their were no units available due to the accident. My drunk was able to from the zoo interchange north all the way up to his far nw-side home without any law enforcement in sight. As far as more laws, remember that we do have mandatory auto insurance now and we will soon have mandatory health insurance.”

LMinMKE put it succinctly.

“Your personal freedoms end when my tax dollars have to pay for the remains of your stupid decision not to wear a helmut,” LMinMKE wrote. “Laws are made to protect me from stupid people. Sadly, they don’t always work, but they reflect SOCIETY values.”

The statistics about how helmets save lives are overwhelming. The American College of Emergency Physicians back in May, motorcycle safety month, put out a press release urging helmet use.

“People are riding bicycles, motorcycles and ATVs more often at this time of year,” Dr. Angela Gardner, president of the doctors’ group, said in the release. “Now is the time to get in the habit of wearing a certified safety helmet, because it only takes one tragic crash to end your life or cause serious injuries to your brain that can alter your life forever.”

The emergency doctors then provided these numbers:

• The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that helmets saved the lives of more than 1,800 motorcyclists in 2008. 
• An additional 800 lives could have been saved if all of those motorcyclists had worn helmets. 
• Motorists without helmets are 40 percent more likely to die from a head injury.

“Helmet use is the single most important factor in people surviving motorcycle crashes,” Dr. Gardner said. “They reduce the risk of head, brain, and facial injury among motorcyclists of all ages and crash severities.” 

 Wisconsin needs a helmet law.

http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/20100618/SHE0101/100618016/1062&located=rss#

The Sheyboygan Sheriff”s Department reported that Michael Meyer, 48, of Fredonia took the tumble about 3:30 p.m. at the MSC Nutritional Ingredients facility at 627 Maine Ave., whch once  housed Adell Whey Co. 

Truck driver Meyer, who works for Cedar Valley Cheese, was disoriented but conscious when a rescue crew came to the scene. But then Meyer was unconscious at one point, but came to while getting treated in an ambulance at the scene of the accident.

A Flight for Life helicopter flew Meyer to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Wauwatosa, where he remained in satisfactory condition.

  http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/96397829.html

The tragedy of the case is not only that Michael Cramer beat his son Matthew, inflicting traumatic brain injury on the baby. The tragedy is that the dead infant’s mother, Cramer’s father and his sister all came to the sentencing to plead to the judge to just let the defendant go home, not to jail.

The baby. Matthew Cramer,  was found with head trauma Feb. 17, 2009 . That’s the day the , his father, was taking  care of  him. The newborn went into a coma, and lingered in a comatose state for six months because Cramer wouldn’t agree to the hospital pulling life support. 

Initially Cramer was charged with child abuse. But after posting bail he took off  from Wisconsin to Illinois. 

A jury in Milwaukee County Circuit Court convicted Cramer of first-degree reckless homicide and bail jumping in April,

Even at the sentencing, Cramer continued to proclaim his innocence. He testified at his trial that he inadvertantly hurt his son while trying to resuscitate him during a sudden infant death syndrome spell. 

But experts testified that the baby’s bleeding around the brain, his subdural  hemorraging and retinal bleeding weren’t consistent with Cramer’s story about his attempts to revive the infant. 

Judge Kevin Marlens sentenced Cramer to 10 years and nine months in prison.