Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Studies Prove Boxing Can Result in Permanent Brain Damage - Thursday, March 13, 2008
While the dangers of boxing have been a hot topic of debate for years, no one can argue the fact that the repeated blows to the heads professional boxers endure can result in severe speech problems, loss of motor control, and tremors. The combination of symptoms that boxers suffer after repeated blows to the head has been given the name dementia pugilistica or punch-drunk syndrome.Though amateur boxers are believed to be at a much lower risk of the long-term damage of professional boxing, research published in the Archives of Neurology in 2006 presents clear evidence that boxing at any level is damaging to the brain. In one study, samples of cerebrospinal fluid, which surrounds the brain, was taken from 14 amateur boxers. When neurons from that fluid become damaged, they die, releasing proteins back into the cerebrospinal fluid. Levels of proteins in the boxers were four times higher than a control group of men who have never boxed. Though none of the boxers involved in the study exhibited any outward signs of cognitive damage or head trauma such as dizziness, slurred speech, or confusion, the proteins found in their cerebrospinal fluid were a clear indication that brain damage had occurred.
Though there are medical professionals who take issue with this study and are confident that boxing is safe, the research clearly shows evidence that cells die after repeated blows to the head and that damage can result leaving the boxer with many permanent side effects known collectively as dementia-pugilistica.
Infant Thrown From Car After Safety Seat Breaks - Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The death of any child is tragic, but knowing that death was avoidable is just too much to bear. Four-month-old Tyler Malcomb died after his mother swerved to avoid a driver who was passing her Suburban illegally. The Evenflo-manufactured child safety seat broke in the SUV rollover accident. When the incident occurred, the "On My Way" seat broke off, and Tyler was ejected about 60 feet from the site of the incident.What makes this tragedy even worse is that Evenflo's own internal tests show that the hooks cracked or failed at least 20% percent of the time in crash testing. The manufacturer was fully aware that in certain accidents 1 in 4 children's seat hooks would not hold up and keep the baby safe. They knew they had a defective product, yet they kept it on the market.
The Malcombs were awarded $6.7 million in compensatory damages and $3.7 million in punitive damages. This was the largest wrongful death settlement in Montana's history.
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