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Brain Injury Research

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Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries (MTBI)

What is a Concussion?

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Signs and symptoms of concussion include headache, nausea, fatigue, confusion or memory problems, sleep disturbances, or mood changes.

According to CDC estimates,1.6-3.8 million sports and recreation related concussions occur in the United States each year.

Between 2001-2005, children and youth ages 5-18 years old accounted for 2.4 million sports-related emergency department (ED) visits annually, of which 6% (135,000) involved a concussion.

An athlete who sustains concussion is 4-6 times more likely to sustain a second concussion.

Brain injuries cause more deaths than any other sports injury.

In organized high school sports, concussions occur more often in competitive sports, with football accounting for more than 60% of concussions.

For males, the leading cause of high school sports concussion is football; for females the leading cause of high school sports concussion is soccer.

Among children and youth ages 5-18 years old, the five leading sports or recreational activities which account for concussions include: bicycling, football, basketball, playground activities, and soccer.

High school athletes’ recovery times for a sports concussion are longer than college athletes’ recovery times.

High school athletes who sustain a concussion are three times more likely to sustain a second concussion.

10% of all contact sport athletes sustain concussions yearly.

In football, brain injuries account for 65% to 95% of all fatalities. Football injuries associated with the brain occur at the rate of one in every 5.5 games. In any given season, 10% of all college players and 20% of all high school players sustain brain injuries.

87% of professional boxers have sustained a brain injury.

5% of soccer players sustain brain injuries as a result of their sport.

The head is involved in more baseball injuries than any other body part. Almost half of the injuries involve a child’s head, face, mouth or eyes.

Effects of concussion are cumulative in athletes who return to play prior to complete recovery.

Up to 86% of athletes that suffer a concussion will experience Post-Traumatic Migraine or some other type of headache pain

1.5 million Americans suffer from traumatic brain injuries.

A traumatic brain injury occurs every 15 seconds. It’s the number one cause of death in children and young adults.

Traumatic brain injuries cause 1.5 times more deaths than AIDS.

Robert P. Fitzsimmons, J.D.

Founding Member, Brain Injury Research Institute

Counsel

Robert (Bob) P. Fitzsimmons is a founding member of the Brain Injury Research Institute and a trial lawyer experienced in traumatic brain injuries. Mr. Fitzsimmons served as counsel for the late Mike Webster, a Hall of Fame center from the Pittsburgh Steelers and first established that "Iron Mike" was totally disabled as a result of football related head trauma in 1999. A lawsuit had to be later filed against the NFL's Pension Board in order to obtain benefits back to the date of Webster's retirement which to date is the only successful total disability lawsuit against the NFL.

In 1985, Mr. Fitzsimmons was elected to a three-year term to the governing body of the West Virginia State Bar, the Board of Governors. He was appointed as a Commissioner of the State of West Virginia (Boxing) Commission by Governor Bob Wise and served from 2003 through 2007. He served as a member of the West Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board Investigative Committee from 2004-2010. Bob is presently a member of the Judicial Ethic's Investigation Committee.

Mr. Fitzsimmons has tried numerous jury trials including, at that time, the largest insurance bad faith verdict in West Virginia of $39 million (Kocher v. Oxford Insurance Co.). Bob has obtained over 125 settlements and verdicts in excess of $1 million dollars. He has also been counsel in over 50 published appellate opinions, the majority of which were published by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

Mr. Fitzsimmons also represented West Virginia University in its successful lawsuit against WVU's former football coach, Rich Rodriguez, who went to the University of Michigan.

Mr. Fitzsimmons received a Juris Doctorate degree with highest honors from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1978, where he was inducted into the Heusler Legal Honor Society. Bob received a Bachelor of Science degree from Allegheny College in 1974.

Mr. Fitzsimmons was admitted to practice law in West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina (inactive license presently in N.C.). Bob is also admitted to practice in the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia and the Southern District of Ohio, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

Bob is a co-author of several medical articles dealing with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) published in "Neurological Focus", "Neurosurgery", "Journal of Forensic Medical Pathology", and "Journal of Forensic Nursing". Bob was named one of the top 75 plaintiffs' trial Lawyers in the United States. Mr. Fitzsimmons has been the #1 vote getter of all attorneys in the State of West Virginia evaluated as "Super Lawyers." "Super Lawyers" is a publication naming outstanding attorneys in each state determined by peer review and professional achievement. In 2011 Bob was selected to a three person mediation panel which settled all claims resulting from the 29 miners' death in the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster in Boone County, West Virginia.

Brain Injury Research Institute - Brain Injury Research Institute
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