By John Cooper, Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney

A simple blood test may be able to determine whether athletes or soldiers who have suffered impact or concussive (i.e., shockwave) blows to the head haved developed a concussion, which is medically defined a a mild traumatic brain injury.  Working with federal funding, researchers with the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio (OH), have begun a study in which they draw blood from football players immediately postgame to check for high levels of a protein called S100B. Blood concentrations of the protein increase when a concussion occurs.

Experts say the blood test for S100B, combined with other brain-health indicators, could help doctors track the long-term, health impacts of sports and help diagnose traumatic brain injury.

See this video about concussions:

The experienced brain injury attorneys with our Virginia (VA)-based law firm welcome any new test to diagnose head injuries from concussions suffered in sports. Recently, we reported on a college bound student wo committed suicide two days after suffering a concussion during a high school football game. Many other serious physical and mental health problems have been linked to concussions.

When coaches, parents, doctors and even injured people themselves fail to take head and brain injuries suffered while playing sports or doing any other activity seriously enough, liability for lawsuits may exist.

We recently reported that a lawsuit seeking $35 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages has now been filed in Norfolk, VA Circuit Court by the wife of a former police recruit who died during training after receiving numerous blows to his head.

To learn more about what you or a loved one can recover from a wrongful death and brain injury claim, check out our videos on the subject.
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About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling traumatic brain injury and general head injury cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). Our attorneys achieved the largest verdict in Virginia’s history for a brain-damaged client in 2000. The initial award of $46 million rose to $60 million with interest when an appeal was settled confidentially. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury lawyers also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. While not every brain injury case meets our criteria, if you or a loved one is thinking about taking legal action against a possibly at-fault person or company that caused your injury, call our office at (800) 752-0042 for a free consultation. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, be sure to leave a voicemail. We will return your call.