Traumatic Brain Injury

Published on: June 14, 2012

Ontario Government Making looking to make changes to catastrophic injury for car accidents

Ontario has a lot of problems:

Healtcare Poverty Unemployment A stagnant economy Poor schools Slow Courts Decaying/Lack of Infrastructure
But of all these problems, Ontario government has not taken any meaninful steps to make a change. You would think that the problems listed above are very important socio-economic issues which ought to be addressed by government in one way, shape or form. You would think that all of these issues would rank higher when it comes to government policy over something as trivial as car insurance, or the implications of insurance after a car accident. But you’re wrong! Dead wrong!
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Published on: May 9, 2012

Summertime sees an increase in bicycle accidents leading to brain injury

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

The snow has melted. The sun is out. The weather is heating up. People sick and tired of bad winter weather want to get outside and be active. And they do. And one of the big changes we see in commuting patterns is that in the warmer weather, more and more people bike to work. It’s only logical that an increase in the number of cyclists on the road creates an increased number for the potential for bike accidents.

What I’ve noticed in Toronto, is that more politicians at City Hall encourage Torontonians to bike. Bike to work. Bike to pick up groceries. Bike for pleasure. Bike to the doctor’s office. Biking is sexy. It’s cool. It’s good for you. It’s hip. Wherever you go, Toronto’s politicians want you to bike. Unfortunately, the infrastructure does not exist in Toronto, or many other Ontario Cities (London, Peterborough, Hamilton, Oshawa) to ensure that your bike ride is a safe one. Unless you stay on your driveway with training wheels and a helmet on, you can’t assure this Toronto Personal Injury Lawyer that some motorist in their car won’t share the roadway with you and won’t “nudge” you off the street.
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Published on: April 4, 2012

Brain Injury in a car vs. Brain Injury in a game of hockey: What’s the difference?

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

An article recently caught my eye in the Globe and Mail. It told the story of an Ottawa Pee Wee AA hockey team.

8 of the 17 players on the hockey team were forced to miss games on account of concussion. That sounds bad; doesn’t it? That sounds completely insane! What parent would sign up their kid for a game only to get concussed! How physical are these Pee Wee hockey games anyway?

What sounds even worse is saying that 8 of the 17 players on the Ottawa Pee Wee AA hockey team missed games on account of brain injury.

Make no mistake, a concussion is a brain injury.
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Published on: March 29, 2012

Catastrophic Personal Injury in a car accident case

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

Ontario Minister of Finance Dwight Duncan and Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty have released the Ontario provincial budget. Ever read a provincial budget? Well, here’s the Ontario 2012 version in all its glory. Long read. Hard to understand. Hard to find what it is you want. LIkely all on purpose so the common person wouldn’t bother going through the thousands and thousands of pages, tables, graphs, pie charts etc.

The budget is full of cuts, proposals to increase revenue, austerity measures, economic forecasts etc. The budget impacts a wide variety of sectors from education, to health, to transportation. Even gambling and liquor sales are covered in the budget.

You might be asking why a Toronto Personal Injury Lawyer is focusing so much on the Ontario provincial budget.
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Published on: February 29, 2012

Handling a brain injury claim in Toronto

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

Brain injury is serious.

I could end this blog posting there, but you’re probably craving more. I mean, sometimes reading about personal injury law can be so gosh darn enterntaining.

Goldfinger Injury Lawyers gets tons of calls a day from prospective clients. Of all the calls we get; it’s those calls which involve brain injury claims which can be the trickiest to handle.

When you break your leg, or arm in a car accident; you know it’s broken. The x-ray shows it; or the bone might be protruding out of place; or the area that’s been hit might be swollen.
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Published on: February 2, 2012

What if Sidney Crosby’s soft tissue injury happened in a car accident?

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

The big story around the NHL and sporting news these days all focuses on the health of Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sid The Kid is arguably the greatest hockey player on the planet. Crosby hasn’t played on a regular basis since he was injured in the Winter Classic on January 1, 2011. He was diagnosed with a concussion. He has since been diagnosed with a soft tissue injury in his neck. He’s been kept out of the line up for basically the entire season (except for a handful of games).

Sidney’s health has been covered by sports fans, the national media and personal injury lawyers across Canada. It’s a compelling story on so many levels. From a personal injury stand point, Sidney, sustained a concussion. A concussion is a head injury.
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Published on: December 1, 2011

Traumatic Brain Injury: Lessons we can learn from Sidney Crosby

By Goldfinger Injury Lawyers

On January 1, 2011, arguably the BEST hockey player on the planet, Sidney Crosby caught an elbow from Washington Capitals Forward David Steckel. Days later, on January 5th, Sidney Crosby was checked against the boards by Tampa Bay Lightning forward, Victor Hedman. Crosby bumped his head in both collisions. He felt “woozy”, had headaches, and simply wasn’t himself following these impacts.

Scans and MRIs returned negative, BUT doctors diagnosed that Crosby sustained a concussion (or a head injury). He was not medically cleared to return to action. Doctors and team management wanted to take every precaution necessary to ensure that Crosby’s brain injury would not put him at further risk. Former NHLers such as Eric Lindros, Brett Lindros and Nick Kypreos all had to cut their careers short on account of brain injury. Penguins team officials didn’t want Crosby to suffer the same fate as the aforementioned players.

While there is a distinction between a major traumatic brain injury and a concussion, it should be clear that no brain injury is minor. They will always have an impact on your life; as it did on Sidney Crosby. Crosby missed the remainder of the 2010/11 season, and did not make his return to professional hockey until November 21st against the New York Islanders. In the period of time he was away from the game, Crosby reported memory problems, balance problems, and co-ordination problems. Other symptoms synonymous with brain injury include but aren’t limited to fatigue, blurred vision, headaches, ringing in the ears, short and long term memory loss, moodiness, irritability, rage, loss of appetite, loss of concentration and depression.

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