:
a symposium hosted by the University of Missouri School of Law Veterans Clinic
Students in the University of Missouri School of Law Veterans
Clinic help veterans and their families secure disability-related benefits. Student work is done primarily at the Board of
Veterans’ Appeals level and before the Court of Appeals for
Veterans’ Claims.
All events will be held in Room 7, Hulston Hall, on the
University of Missouri campus.
For more information, please visit law.missouri.edu/
veteransclinic-symposium or contact mulawvetclinic@missouri.edu.
Please visit our website to register. Registration is requested but not required. Early registration is appreciated.
Free parking is available near the Hearnes Center on the
University of Missouri campus. Shuttle service from the Hearnes
Center to Hulston Hall will be provided by the Missouri
Orthopaedic Institute. For more information about parking and shuttle service, please visit law.missouri.edu/veteransclinic-
symposium.
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225 Hulston Hall Columbia,
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NOVEMBER 11 , 2015

O n May 19, 2005, the New England Journal of Medicine published Dr. Susan Okie’s article, “Traumatic Brain
Injury in the War Zone,” which reported on the case of Sgt. David Emme, who was severely brain-injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) while part of a convoy transporting Iraqi volunteers for military training. Knocked unconscious, temporarily blinded and unable to hear in his left ear, Sgt. Emme regained consciousness 10 days later in the neuroscience unit of Walter Reed National Military Medical
Center. He was unable to speak. After five months of extensive therapy, Sgt. Emme regained most of his vision, but was still struggling with verbal communication, reasoning, memory and problem-solving.
Sgt. Emme was one of 450 service members treated at Walter
Reed from 2003 to 2005 for traumatic brain injury
(TBI). Many of these cases – 56 percent – were
considered “severe.” The numbers reflect the reality
of today’s modern wars. Unlike the casualties of
war suffered long ago, when soldiers with brain
trauma died from their injuries, the use
of Kevlar body armor and helmets in
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This program is approved for 4.0 hours of CLE credit in the state of Missouri.
8 A.M. CHECK-IN AND CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
8:15 A.M. WELCOME
C huCk
h enSon
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and
Trial Practice Professor of Law
University of Missouri School of Law
8:20 A.M. THE HISTORY OF TBI CLAIMS IN VA
DISABILITY COMPENSATION CASES a my
o dom
National Litigation Director
National Veterans Legal Services Program
9:10 A.M. LIVING WITH TBI: CHANGED LIVES a lex
p
RaCht with a few words from his mother, Pat Pracht
Retired U.S. Army, OEF (2008-2009)
Client, University of Missouri School of Law
Veterans Clinic
S hawn
l ee
, ’15
Veteran, 101st Airborne
Attorney, Fox Stretz & Quinn m odeRatoR
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RiC
h aRt
Associate Clinical Professor
Department of Health Psychology
University of Missouri today’s conflicts increases survival rates. But state-of-the-art helmets cannot completely protect the head or prevent closed brain injury caused by blasts. More than 30,000 service members suffer from TBI, with an estimated economic cost of $76.5 billion.
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, “this is a very real disease.”
CTE is caused by head trauma. It is progressive and degenerative, marked by depression, anger, disorientation, memory loss and suicidal ideation. CTE is definitively diagnosed only after death.
According to the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs, “TBI may happen from a blow or jolt to the head or an object penetrating the brain. When the brain is injured, the person can experience a change in consciousness that can range from becoming disoriented and confused to slipping into a coma.” Evidence of CTE has been found in the brains of veterans, just as it has been found in NFL players.
To be sure, there is an overlap between injuries observed in our nation’s athletes and in our nation’s service members returning from recent conflicts. The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), in conjunction with Boston University, is carefully studying brain injury. In fact, DVA maintains the brain repository in Bedford,
Mass., from which many of the studies discussed above emanate.
The Veterans Clinic at the University of Missouri School of Law is pleased to present its second annual symposium focusing on the legal and practical issues arising from traumatic brain injury, a very real concern for athletes and our military.
10:30 A.M. LIVING THROUGH THE LEAGUE OF DENIAL:
AN ATHLETE, AN ATTORNEY & AN ASTUTE
PROFESSOR p aul
a ndeRSon
Attorney, The Klamann Law Firm
Creator, NFLConcussionLitigation.com
m aRvin
w aShinGton
Retired NFL Player
Member of the 1998 Denver Broncos Super
Bowl Team d ouGlaS
e. a bRamS
Associate Professor of Law
University of Missouri School of Law m odeRatoR
: J uStin
t
Rueblood
Third-Year Student at the University of Missouri
School of Law and President of the Mizzou Law
Sports Society
11:30 A.M. CONTEMPORARY GAME DAY PREVENTION:
PERSPECTIVES FROM THE TRAINER AND THE
PLAYER
R ex
S haRp
Associate Athletic Director for Sports
Management
University of Missouri Department of Athletics m iChael
S am
Defensive Lineman, University of Missouri
Football, 2009-2013
7 th Round Selection, 2014 NFL Draft
12:10 P.M. KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
d
R
. S uSan
o kie
Former Medical Reporter and
National Science Editor
The Washington Post
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This program is approved for 3.0 hours of CLE credit in the state of Missouri.
1:30 P.M.
WELCOME h. t homaS
h ayneS
, ’14
Attorney, Shands & Haynes LLC
ACCREDITATION CLE AND THE
ABCs OF A VA DISABILITY CLAIM a nGela
d
Rake
Director of the Veterans Clinic and Instructor
University of Missouri School of Law
2:30 P.M. HOW TO APPEAL A DENIAL d avid
m yeRS
Director of Case Evaluation and Placement
Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program
3:30 P.M. WHAT TO ARGUE WHEN YOU APPEAL a my
o dom
National Litigation Director
National Veterans Legal Services Program