CTE Brain Injury Attorneys in Louisiana

The condition we now know as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, was first described as applying to boxers in the 1920s. At that time, it was called punch-drunk syndrome or dementia pugilistica, and wasn’t related to other high-impact sports like football or hockey until the early 2000s.

While still little is known about CTE, it seems to be more common than previously thought. If you or a loved one has experienced multiple head traumas and is beginning to suffer symptoms like cognitive or motor impairment, behavioral changes, or mood disorders, you might be facing an undiagnosed case of CTE.

What Is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)?

CTE is a progressive condition resulting from repeated head injuries or concussions. It’s commonly associated with head injuries in sports like boxing, football, hockey, and other full-contact sports. As the disease progresses, patients’ symptoms generally worsen; however, the disease is still not well-understood and research is ongoing.

Symptoms of CTE

One of the main difficulties with a CTE diagnosis is that it shares many symptoms with other conditions, such as Alzheimer’s. In the few patients with proved CTE, these have included cognitive, behavioral, mood, and motor symptoms.

• Cognitive impairment includes difficulty thinking, memory loss, and problems with executive function, including planning, organizing, and carrying out tasks
• Behavioral changes include impulsive and aggressive behavior
• Mood disorders include depression or apathy, emotional instability, substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts or behavior
• Motor symptoms include Parkinson’s disease-like symptoms, as well as motor neuron disease

Experts believe that CTE symptoms don’t develop immediately after the trauma, but can instead take years or even decades of repeated head injuries. In addition, experts currently believe that CTE symptoms appear differently depending on the age of the patient.

In their late 20s and early 30s, CTE patients may suffer mental health and behavioral issues, including anxiety, depression, impulsiveness, and aggression. Later in life—around age 60—CTE can present with memory loss and trouble thinking. These symptoms can progress into dementia.

CTE Diagnosis

Because so much about CTE is still unknown, it’s impossible to definitively diagnose a patient with CTE until performing an autopsy after their death. Further complicating a CTE diagnosis is that we also don’t know how CTE progresses, so it’s impossible to diagnose based on a pattern or history of symptoms.

However, research institutions like the CTE Center of Boston University are actively looking for other methods of diagnosis before death, so there is hope. This is an active area of research, so it’s possible that answers can be just over the horizon. The CTE brain injury lawyers on the Gordon McKernan team always keep themselves updated on any new information.

Causes of CTE

Researchers believe that the most likely cause for CTE is repetitive head trauma. The main focus of most studies have been football players, ice hockey players, and active military personnel, but other sports and even repeated physical abuse can also lead to these injuries.

If you’ve received multiple head traumas, even years or decades ago, and you’re experiencing symptoms like memory loss, motor function loss, mood or behavior changes, or the like, you could be a CTE patient. We recommend going to see a medical professional to find out more about your condition.

Football Concussions

It’s been estimated that over half of all football players suffer at least 1 severe concussion at some point in their careers. Furthermore, about a third of all football players suffer multiple concussions during their careers, placing them at heightened risk for CTE and other traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

Concussions occur when a player’s head accelerates faster than their brain, causing the brain to hit the inside of the skull. While many concussions happen during falls or impacts, they can also be caused by sudden jerky movements, such as the pushing and roughhousing common in a football game.

Football is a full-contact sport, meaning some serious injuries are not preventable. However, if you’ve experienced football traumatic brain injuries or think you might have developed CTE from football, you could be entitled to compensation. If your injuries could have been prevented, and if they were caused by the negligence of your coach, other players, the organizers of the venue, or any other third party, give Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys a call to discuss your legal options.

Repetitive Head Trauma

Most experts believe that the main cause of CTE is repetitive head trauma, over months or even years. Many full-contact sports involve this kind of trauma as a part of the game, but there are other causes of head trauma as well.

In fact, repetitive head trauma can be caused by a variety of factors, including defective products like airbags, frequent falls, and even, tragically, abuse.

Determining Liability in a CTE Injury Case

CTE may be a long-term, progressive condition, but sometimes it’s possible to trace legal liability for CTE to a specific party. While injury laws vary by state, and as of this writing Louisiana has no CTE-injury-specific laws on the books, there are various legal avenues through which you can pursue compensation. Common sources of CTE liability can include

• Negligence, if instructors or coaches failed to provide proper safety equipment
• Battery, especially when involving the use of a weapon or serious bodily harm (aggravated battery)
• Defective products, such as a defective airbag during a car wreck or a defective ladder

Of course, liability for your CTE injury will depend on the specifics of your case. That’s one of the reasons you need an experienced brain injury lawyer on your side.

Why You Need a Louisiana CTE Brain Injury Lawyer

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is an active research area in medicine, and little is known about the condition. That can make your CTE injury case more difficult to prove—although the public and the courts are slowly gaining more awareness of the issue.

An experienced CTE brain injury lawyer will be able to help you make a case that the repeated brain injuries you’ve suffered have contributed to your probable CTE diagnosis. They can also help you hold those who caused those injuries, or neglected their duty of care to keep you safe, accountable for their actions.

Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys are experienced Louisiana personal injury attorneys with 679+ years of combined legal experience helping people with brain injuries find the money they need to heal. We’re proud to have recovered over $3 Billion for our clients over the years, and we’re confident that we can help you recover.

If you or a loved one has started showing the signs of CTE, give us a call at 888.501.7888 today for a free consultation. A dedicated injury lawyer will review the details of your case, determine what damages you can seek, and start on your claim right away. We’re so dedicated to our clients that we provide the G Guarantee: you won’t owe us a dime until we win your case.