Sgt. Emme was one of 450 service members treated at Walter\u00a0Reed from 2003 to 2005 for traumatic brain injury\u00a0(TBI). Many of these cases \u2013 56 percent \u2013 were\u00a0considered \u201csevere.\u201d The numbers reflect the reality\u00a0of today\u2019s modern wars. Unlike the casualties of\u00a0war suffered long ago, when soldiers with brain\u00a0trauma died from their injuries, the use\u00a0of Kevlar body armor and helmets in\u00a0today\u2019s conflicts increases survival rates. But state-of-the-art\u00a0helmets cannot completely protect the head or prevent closed\u00a0brain injury caused by blasts. More than 30,000 service members\u00a0suffer from TBI, with an estimated economic cost of $76.5\u00a0billion.<\/p>\n
Kansas City Chiefs player Javon Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend before killing himself on December 1, 2012. CNN reported that pathology reports found Belcher suffered from brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE was found in the brains of 87 of 91 deceased NFL players who donated their bodies for research, according to a study released on September 18, 2015. This number is consistent with earlier research results in 2014, finding 76 of 79 brains of deceased NFL players revealed evidence of CTE. As explained by Dr. Ann McKee, one of the doctors involved in the studies, this is not a matter of sensationalizing an issue to create controversy for football fans or the NFL, \u201cthis is a very real disease.\u201d<\/div>\n
CTE is caused by head trauma. It is progressive and degenerative,\u00a0marked by depression, anger, disorientation, memory loss and\u00a0suicidal ideation. CTE is definitively diagnosed only after death.\u00a0According to the U.S. Department of\u00a0Veterans Affairs, \u201cTBI may happen from a\u00a0blow or jolt to the head or an object penetrating\u00a0the brain. When the brain is injured, the person can\u00a0experience a change in consciousness that can range\u00a0from becoming disoriented and confused to slipping into\u00a0a coma.\u201d Evidence of CTE has been found in the brains of\u00a0veterans, just as it has been found in NFL players.<\/p>\n
To be sure, there is an overlap between injuries observed in our\u00a0nation\u2019s athletes and in our nation\u2019s service members returning\u00a0from recent conflicts. The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA),\u00a0in conjunction with Boston University, is carefully studying brain\u00a0injury. In fact, DVA maintains the brain repository in Bedford,\u00a0Mass., from which many of the studies discussed above emanate.<\/p>\n
The Veterans Clinic at the University of Missouri School of Law\u00a0is pleased to present its second annual symposium focusing on\u00a0the legal and practical issues arising from traumatic brain injury, a\u00a0very real concern for athletes and our military.<\/p>\n
About the Veterans Clinic<\/h2>\n
Students in the University of Missouri School of Law Veterans\u00a0Clinic help veterans and their families secure disability-related\u00a0benefits. Student work is done primarily at the Board of\u00a0Veterans\u2019 Appeals level and before the Court of Appeals for\u00a0Veterans\u2019 Claims.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On November 11, 2015, the Veterans Clinic at the University of Missouri School of Law will host a symposium on traumatic brain injuries. I, along with several panelists, will be speaking at the symposium. I hope you can join and honor our heroes. You can find all the details here,\u00a0http:\/\/law.missouri.edu\/faculty\/category\/veterans-clinic\/15-symposium-veterans\/\u00a0, and below: On May 19, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[146,29,16,477,479,478],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1786"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1787,"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786\/revisions\/1787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nflconcussionlitigation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}