Jockey Sustains A Concussion In Racetrack Collision Of Two Horses

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Posted on 29th November 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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A jockey was knocked unconscious and his mount was fatally injured, fracturing its skull, in a horrifying accident at Aqueduct Raceway in New York Saturday.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2010/11/27/2010-11-27_jockey_jason_gracia_suffers_serious_injury_after_twohorse_spill_at_aqueduct_race.html

Two thoroughbreds collided into each other at full speed during a race at the track in Queens, the New York Daily News reported Sunday. Injured jockey Jason Garcia, 28, was taken from the track on a stretcher and didn’t regain consciousness until he was in a hospital emergency room.

Garcia was riding the pony Ryan and Jack when another horse, October Dreams, plowed into them at a full gallop. The horses became entangled, according to the News, with Ryan and Jack finally landing on top of Garcia.

 In addition to a concussion, the jockey also had several broken ribs and contusions.

Ryan and Jack sustained a fractured skull in the collision, and was put to sleep on the track.

October Dreams wasn’t hurt, and his jockey, Jose Bermudez, was hospialized for injured ribs. 

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

Warren Buffett Says Gives Thanks For Uncle Sam’s Bailout Of The Economy

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Posted on 19th November 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Leave it to Midwestern investment guru Warren Buffett to remind vocal naysayers how well the U.S. government has done stabilizing our economy. It’s something to reflect on this Thanksgiving. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/opinion/17buffett.html

In an Op-Ed piece for The New York Times this week, Buffett reminded those Americans who have short memories how close our country came to “an economic meltdown” two years ago, in September 2008. The headine, “Pretty Good for Government Work,” makes Buffett’s opinion pretty obvious.

Buffett reminds us that two years ago Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in conservatorship; one Wall Street investment house was about to crumble and the other three were close to following; and the insurer AIG “was at death’s door.”

Corporate America wasn’t the only thing at risk, according to Buffett. Some 300 million Americans were about to see their jobs, 401(K)s and money-maret funds ”turn into pumpkins and mice…a destructive economic force unlike any seen for generations had been unleasehed.” he wrote.

As Buffett saw it, the government was the only “counterforce” in a position to stop the onset of a modern day Great Depression. 

“Well, Uncle Sam, you delivered,” Buffett wrote. “People will second-guess your specific decisions; you can always count on that. But…overall, your actions were remarkably effective.”

Buffett gives credit to Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson, Tim Geithner, Sheila Bair and even, albeit reluctantly, President Bush, for acting “with courage and dispatch.”

Otherwise, “the world would look far different now if you had not,” Buffett wrote, signing his piece “your grateful nephew.”   

Of course, the economy is not fixed. Unemployment is at 10 percent. Retail sales are just started to rebound. But we’re at a hell of a better place than we were. Apocalypse avoided.    

   

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

Bronx Teen Continues Recovery From Gunshot Wound In The Brain

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Posted on 15th November 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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 It’s great to read a story about a traumatic brain injury victim who makes a comeback beyond all expectations. And that is certainly the case with Vada Vasquez.

The New York Post Monday printed a photo of Vasquez as she lay on a sidewalk in the Bronx, shot in the head during a gang war last year, her eyes open, bleeding onto the concrete. She was 15 then, on Nov. 16, 2009, when she was hit with a bullet meant for another person. She was an innocent victim caught in the middle of a gangbang battle.

  http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/miracle_teen_hard_road_back_XaPXO7qhHr75J9Dg43jweI

The Post did a full update on Vasquez Monday, a story headlined “Miracle Teen’s Hard Road Back.”

After she was shot, doctors operated on Vasquez to take out the bullet that had hit the left temporal lobe of her brain, the part of the mind that controls speech, according to The Post.  The teen was in a coma for several days before waking up with no memory of the shooting.

Vasquez spent last Thanksgiving in rehab at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She went through painstaking speech therapy there, according to The Post, initially struggling unsuccessfully to say the words “love” and “hi.” What was frustrating was that Vasquez knew she had been able to say those words before.

The young woman was home for Christmas, and she was still having trouble speaking. At that time, she had to wear a helmet because she was awaiting surgery to reconstruct her skull.

She had that surgery in February, and has made great strides in her rehab, all described by The Post. 

But Vasquez is not out of the woods. She still gets horrible headaches — and nightmares. But she’s upbeat, and happy to be alive to have celebrated her 16th birthday earlier this month at the local Great Adventure.

   

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

New York Mayor Bloomberg’s Daughter Suffers Concussion After Horse Jump

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Posted on 8th November 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s younger daughter was set to undergo additional tests Monday after sustaining a concussion during a fall while performing at an equestrian tournament.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/bloomberg-says-daughter-is-recovering-after-fall/?scp=9&sq=mayor%20bloomberg&st=cse

Georgina Bloomberg, 27,  was briefly unconscious and fractured several vertebrae Friday when she fell off her mount during the competition in Syracsue, N.Y.

She was riding a horse, named Radio C ity, over a fence when, in the middle of the animal’s jump, its saddle came loose and Bloomberg fell off. She did walk out of the Oncenter War Memorial Arena on her own.  

The daughter was slated to have an MRI Monday. 

 

 

 

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.

Neurologists Say Athletes With Suspected Concussions Should Be Removed From Game Until Evaluation

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Posted on 2nd November 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Monday called for any athlete who is suspected of having a concussion to be removed from play until he or she is evaluated by a doctor trained in evaluating and managing sports concussion.

http://www.aan.com/press/index.cfm?fuseaction=release.view&release=875

That request is one of five recommendations that are part of new position statement approved by the AAN’s board, and it targets policymakers with authority over determining the policy procedures for when an athlete suffers from concussion while participating in a sporting activity.

“While the majority of concussions are self-limited injuries, catastrophic results can occur and we do not yet know the long-term effects of multiple concussions,” said Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, chair of the AAN’s Sports Neurology Section, which drafted the position statement. “We owe it to athletes to advocate for policy measures that promote high quality, safe care for those participating in contact sports.”

The AAN contends that some of its members have extensive experience caring for athletes and are best qualified to develop and disseminate guidelines for managing athletes with sports concussion.

According to the new AAN position statement, no athlete should be allowed to participate in sports if he or she is still experiencing symptoms from a concussion, and a neurologist or physician with proper training should be consulted prior to clearing the athlete for return to participation.

In addition, the AAN recommends a certified athletic trainer be present at all sporting events, including practices, where athletes are at risk for concussion. Education efforts should also be maximized to improving the understanding of sports concussion by all athletes, parents and coaches.

 “We need to make sure coaches, trainers, and even parents, are properly educated on this issue, and that the right steps have been taken before an athlete returns to the field,” said Kutcher, who is also director of the University of Michigan’s Neurosport program.

In 1997, the AAN published a guideline on the management of sports concussion that defines concussion grade levels and provides recommendations. The guideline is currently being updated.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, sports-related concussions occur in the United States 3 million times a year, and among people ages 15 to 24 are now second only to motor vehicle accidents as a leading cause of traumatic brain injury.

 The American Academy of Neurology is an association of more than 22,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals. http://www.aan.com.

Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.