This week, two articles published in the medical journal Pediatrics highlight the extremely high cost of motorcycle wrecks for youths ages 12 to 20.

The first study, “Youth Motorcycle-Related Hospitalizations and Traumatic Brain Injuries in the United States in 2006,” showed that the number of motorcycle deaths and injuries are increasing for children and young adults. Between 1999 and 2006, there was an 88% increase in motorcycle-related deaths. Among young motorcycle riders who are in a crash, one-third sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Those with TBI were more likely to be discharged to a rehabilitation facility (instead of home), and 24% had long-term TBI-related disability.

The second study, “Youth Motorcycle-Related Brain Injury by State Helmet Law Type: United States, 2005-2007,” examined how differing helmet laws affect rates of brain injury and death among motorcycle riders ages 12 to 20. The researchers found something unexpected: States that have a youth-specific helmet law have an increased risk of  TBI that required hospitalization, disability, and death. States with a specific <21 law have 38% higher rates of serious TBI than states with universal helmet laws.

What might account for this counterintuitive finding? Perhaps universal helmet laws make adults more likely to remember their child’s helmet when they put on their own. Or it may be that adults who regularly use helmets themselves pay more attention to other aspects of safety while driving a motorcycle. The study just examined the numbers…it didn’t provide answers. However, the study’s authors declare:

Advocates for repealing universal helmet laws often assert that this retains their desire for choice while protecting young adults. This assertion is dubious; with consistent evidence of increased death and serious injury to young adults and minors who are supposed to be protected.

We agree. We have seen first-hand the devastation of traumatic brain injury caused by crashes involving motorcycles. We represent people who have had their lives destroyed by motorcycle wrecks. There is no good reason to subject a young person to risks they cannot control, and which carry such a potentially high price tag.

To read the full studies, click on the titles below:

“Youth Motorcycle-Related Hospitalizations and Traumatic Brain Injuries in the United States in 2006″ [Weiss, et al. Pediatrics, November 15, 2010]

“Youth Motorcycle-Related Brain Injury by State Helmet Law Type: United States, 2005-2007″ [Weiss, et al. Pediatrics, November 15, 2010]

To read more about traumatic brain injury and/or motorcycle wrecks, see our dedicated pages at www.lawmed.com. If you have questions, HensonFuerst has answers.

It may seem like we keep banging the concussion drum, but this story doesn’t go away.  According to new information published online today, the number of concussion-related hospital emergency visits for children ages 8-13 doubled between 1997 and 2007 (a 100% increase). For youth age 14-19, the increase was 200%, a 4-fold increase.

The cause of this increase isn’t clear, but the researchers note that most of the concussions happened as a result of sports, even though fewer kids participate in organized team sports. So…if fewer kids play organized team sports, but there are more concussions due to sports, what exactly is going on?

According to the experts, there are a few potential explanations:

• while there are fewer organized team sports, there are more sports activities available;
• organized sports today are even more competitive today than they were in 1997, which puts kids at higher risk;
• practice and play times have become more intense.

There is also the possibility that parents and coaches are more aware of the symptoms of concussion, and are therefore more likely to take an injured child to the hospital.

No matter the reason(s) for the increase, everyone agrees that action needs to be taken to bring these rates down. For example, there need to be clear, comprehensive, and age-appropriate return-to-play guidelines for all young athletes. In the future, we may also see use of MRI scans, balance tests, and neuropsychological testing to take the guesswork out of concussion diagnoses. Helmet use should be required in sports that currently have no helmet rules (such as for skiing)…and other equipment could be modified to reduce injury risk (for example, padding goalposts, or decreasing mass and air pressure of soccer balls).

For more information, see this story posted by NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129519808

The original medical journal article is available online: Pediatrics

The reference is:

“Emergency Department Visits for Concussion in Young Child Athletes,” by Lisa L. Bakhos, Gregory R. Lockhart, Richard Myers, and James G. Linakis. Pediatrics, online publication August 30, 2010.

As a Traumatic Brain Injury lawyer, I have seen first-hand the effects of brain injury in children, and the long term consequences suffered by these kids and their families.  Previous studies have documented the long term consequences, but a new study has now come out addressing this issue as well.  One of the key findings is that “that over time, children and adolescents with a severe traumatic brain injury appear to fall even farther behind their peers than one would expect, making intervention and monitoring especially important in this group.”  This finding is especially concerning to parents who try to minimize the effects of such an injury, and also makes it clear that families dealing with this issue should focus on early therapeutic intervention which will prove critical in minimizing the physical or cognitive delays often associated with brain injury.  For the full article, please go to the following link.