How Can a Forensic Nurse Help in Your DUI Case?
DUI Prevalence According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2020, there were 11,654 deaths from drunk driving crashes, which equates to one person every 45 minutes and/or 32 people per day. This was a 14% increase from 2019. Between 2011 and 2020, on average, 10,500 people died every year due to drunk […]
The Long-Term Effects of Repetitive Head Trauma
Traumatic Brain Injury in Criminal Cases After Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), people can experience personality changes, social anxiety, irritability, anger, depression, general anxiety, mood swings, emotional lability, and feelings of being overwhelmed. The bottom line is that the brain no longer functions exactly the way it did prior to the head injury. The location of […]
Traumatic Brain Injury or Mental Illness?
TBI and Mental Illness What if a defendant commits a crime because of being affected by either an acute brain injury or an acquired or inherited brain disease? This is called the “brain defense.” In criminal cases, defense attorneys are increasingly using clinical evidence of brain injury to either establish their client’s innocence or mitigate […]
TBI and Drug Abuse
The Frontal Cortex Connection: TBI and Drug Abuse The long-term effects of traumatic brain injury are at long last being acknowledged and researched in our society, partly due to the media’s attention to the severity and consequences of this injury to football players in the NFL. We are realizing the extent in which these injuries […]
One Deadly Punch Leads To Prison
Our faithful readers may remember that I wrote a newsletter back in 2011 called “Can One Punch Kill” but it has been many years since then and I asked one of my nurses to write up a newsletter. Ironically, she dug through some of my ideas and came across the same article. Her take […]
How is a concussion managed?
Conservative management of concussions is standard practice. Physical and cognitive rest is recommended for at least 24 hours pending cessation of symptoms. Gradual return to work, school, and physical activity is also endorsed. For a person with prolonged symptoms, reevaluation and treatment may be beneficial. (Evans, Concussion and mild traumatic brain injury, 2013) Admission to […]
What is post-concussion syndrome?
One common consequence of concussion is the post-concussion syndrome (PCS), which is a group of symptoms that includes headache, dizziness, decreased concentration, memory problems, irritability, fatigue, visual disturbances, sensitivity to noise, judgment problems, depression, and anxiety. PCS is usually associated with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), such as a concussion, but may also occur after […]
How is a concussion diagnosed?
The initial diagnosis of concussion is based on evaluation of the symptoms a person reports, or someone else observes, after sustaining the injury. Concussion is commonly divided into three different types: Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3. The chart below distinguishes the features of each: [su_table] Grade Behavior Signs Time 1 Confused but remains […]
What exactly is a concussion?
When a bump, jolt, or blow to the head causes a change in the way the brain works, it is called a concussion. A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) that causes the brain to move quickly back and forth inside the skull. They are sometimes considered “mild” because concussions are not […]
